The Dull Night
by DilemmaDisgrace
Summary: Adrien/Chat Noir has given up on his endeavors to try and woo Ladybug, and so he begins to notice the beautiful, shy and selfless blue haired girl in his class. Little does he know about the events that are about to unfurl. And will he be able to handle it when his life changes entirely?
1. Chapter 1

****A/N- A little something that was inspired by a MLB meme. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. Pre-reveal and purely Adrienette 3****

He thought about her whenever he let his mind wander. She was practically flawless in every single way possible. The way her raven hair contrasted her pale complexion, or how her cheeks always shone a beautiful rosy pink shade, even amongst the freckles that she tried to hide beneath her mask. Everything from her striking bluebells eyes to the way the world seemed to light up when she smiled was perfect, Adrien couldn't find a single thing he would want to change about her. Not to mention, she was confident and always stood her ground, she stood up for what was right and went up against all evil showing no fear. He sighed just at the thought of his lady. But unfortunately the truth had dawned on him long ago. Although Ladybug would always be his partner, she would never reciprocate his feelings.

Adrien lie awake in bed that night, unable to sleep. Too many things were racing through his mind, much like a wind storm, to even consider settling down enough for that to be a possibility. He took in a deep breath and then sighed again. It had been three years since him and Ladybug began working together to protect the city of Paris from the dastardly villain known as Hawkmoth. And during that entire time, he'd tried several times to initiate a romantic relationship with her, but she rejected him each and every time. He desperately wanted to ask her what it would take for her to finally be his. It hurt to be unwanted by the woman he loved, but he respected that she wanted their relationship to remain strictly business, because after all, it's easier to work without distractions like love. He rolled onto his side, only to see a small black cat laying beside him on his pillow, snoring loudly. The little kwami opened his eyes when he felt like he was being watched.

"Kid, are you really still awake?" He asked indifferently, yawning into his tiny hands. Adrien just nodded and tried to close his eyes. However no matter how often or for how long he kept them closed, sleep never came to him. It frustrated him, all he wanted to do was get lost in dreams to forget about the long nights and even longer days that haunted him. Adrien, after a while decided that his quest was near impossible so he decided that he'd keep his eyes closed so he could think without being interrupted by his nosy kwami. Without thinking, he let his mind wander to the red spotted lady again, and as if on cue, Plagg let out a chuckle from beside his head.

Adrien felt his eyes shoot open immediately and gave the little black cat a glare. If looks could kill, Plagg would be dead.

"What's so amusing, care to share?" he asked in a bitter tone.

"You're so obviously lovesick. It's making me nauseous, but at the same time it's hilarious. The two of you are so oblivious sometimes!" Plagg managed through laughs.

Adrien considered his words for a minute. Oblivious? What was that supposed to mean?

"Why are we oblivious?"

"Look, if you stop thinking about her for two seconds, you might finally manage to get some rest, and then just maybe you'll finally be at peace for a while." The kwami suggested after he had finish with his laughing fit. "And if you can't get that to work, there's always cheese! Way less complicated than women." he added with a mischievous grin.

Adrien rolled his eyes at him and then tried closing eyes once more; if he was going to get relationship or love advice from somebody, he figured that Plagg probably wasn't his best choice. Maybe he could ask Alya or Nino, or maybe even Marinette for some help at school in the morning, if they were willing to give it to him of course. One of them were bound to have an answer for him. A useful one anyway, unlike Plagg, who only seemed to mock him all the time. And even if they aren't useful, it still would give him something else to go on rather than his own thoughts. Eventually, after a bit more thought, the blonde model fell into an uneasy sleep, tossing and turning all night long as he dreamt of the spotted red girl who held his heart.

The next day at school, after Adrien got out of the car and thanked the Gorilla, he started walking up the steps towards the school when he froze dead in his place.

"Adrikins!" A familiar high pitched voice called from infront of him, and before he knew it, a blonde girl had wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a very uncomfortable embrace.

"Hey, Chlo" He tried to greet her, faking a smile and brushing her arms off his shoulders awkwardly. He despised it when she thought it was okay to throw herself all over him, even if they were somewhat friends. She leant into his face to peck him on the cheek, but he resisted and made sure that she didn't succeed in this endeavor.

Chloe shrugged and then waved at him once more as she began walking off to join Sabrina before class started. Adrien shuddered in disgust. Normally he would respect someone having those kind of feelings towards him, but Chloe made him feel extremely uncomfortable whenever she tried to touch him, maybe perhaps because she was trying to make it so obvious. He never wanted their relationship to mean anything more than friendship, and he sincerely hoped she would figure that out one day. Whatever the case was, Adrien didn't appreciate it, but no matter how much he said so, she never seemed to back off.

He continued to walk up the stairs into the school grounds, when suddenly his eyes wandered and found his best friend Nino sitting over on a bench with the two girls, Alya and Marinette. He held his phone in his hand and they were all staring at the screen intently. Adrien's feet instinctively carried him towards the bench, he stood before them and waved.

Marinette was the first one to look up, and her face instantly turned a bright red colour. She giggled and then attempted a wave back. He managed a smile at her.

"Hey, dude!" Nino finally greeted putting his phone in his pocket and then standing up to fistbump Adrien's hand. "Was just showing the girls this new mix I created last night. Wanna see?" he offered.

"Sure Nino, you'll have to show me at lunchtime." Adrien smiled again. He could count on his friends to make even the saddest or loneliest of days better.

The bell rang at that moment, so the group of four walked together up to class, discussing the latest news that Alya had featured on her Ladyblog. Of course Adrien already knew about it because he was none other than the famous hero Chat Noir himself, although she would never know that. But for her sake, he tried to act genuinely intrigued by her footage, because it was the least he could do for her.

During class he sat there in silence, they were being lectured on a subject that he was already familiar with thanks to his advanced homeschooling, so he decided to let his mind relax for the time being. He really wanted advice on his Ladybug situation, but didn't know how to go about asking for help. He knew he'd figure something out at lunch. All the positive memories of him and Ladybug seeping into his mind, like the time he met her, when she was just a clumsy beginner who had no idea what she was doing. How she instinctively used her wit whenever they were mid battle, every move thought and planned carefully. And when she and him battled their first akuma, she gained more experience and skill with every attack. The countless times when they had worked together as an unstoppable team to defeat any akuma that came their way. Even the time where they had supposedly kissed, although he had no memory of this particular instance, he had seen footage of the incident and it had never left his mind since. Just the thought of all these things put a goofy smile on his face.

At lunch, the group all sat down to eat their food together, and began to converse on interesting topics like games they should play all together, places to hang around together outside of school and different ideas to promote Alya's Ladyblog.

"Hey guys, I need advice on something quite urgent," Adrien finally mustered up some courage to ask the group. Nino, Marinette and Alya all smiled at him as if they were glad to help him out. "it's about a girl..." he continued feeling his cheeks flush red as he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. For some reason Marinette went a bright shade of red as well, which confused Adrien because it was him needing the advice not her. Alya and Nino exchanged glances and smirked at one another nodding once. They both stood up simultaneously and excused themselves.

"Well me and Nino should head to Biology together, but you can talk to Marinette about it on the way to physics," And just like that they walked off, probably a little bit too fast, because it made Adrien feel suspicious. He quickly shook off the emotion and then looked back at the small blue haired girl.

"So do you think you could help me out?" he asked breaking the silence. Marinette went all different shades of pinks and reds, and if he was completely honest, if he wasn't infatuated with Ladybug, he'd say it was almost cute.

"Y-yeah. What'd y-ou need help with?" She managed, as he was looking intently into her eyes. Her bright sapphire orbs were gleaming happily in the sunlight. She kind of looked like she was freaking out a little, but Adrien had no idea why.

"Well I'm in love with a girl, and have been since I met her when we were 14. I've tried so hard to get in a relationship with her but she just keeps rejecting my feelings, and sends mixed messages back. What should I do Marinette?" he explained as they began to walk slowly up a set of stairs towards their next classroom. The bell rung abruptly and students in the corridor below began to disperse as they walked off in different directions to their classes.

Marinette looked at him dead in the eye. She thought this situation sounded familiar in a way but she brushed that thought away as quickly as it came and continued to gaze into his emerald green eyes. "Well personally, I think if you've told this girl how you feel about her and she's only rejected you constantly, then maybe you should move on and find someone worth your time. You could like somebody who seems like the light to your darkness, but if they don't treat you that way, you need to find someone elsewhere who will." she finished, surprised that she didn't stutter a word of it. She also felt pretty guilty because she was being a bit of a hypocrite. She could only hope that by being there for him, he'd realise one day

Adrien, however only continued to smile. He was glad that Alya and Nino walked off and that Marinette was the one to give him advice. He trusted Marinette, it was a very familiar sense, it almost reminded him of his lady. They both walked into class and sat down together, much to Chloe's disgust, who stormed to the other side of the room and sat next to Sabrina, spite and bitter resentment written all over her makeup caked face.

As the lesson progressed, Marinette grew curious. Who was the girl he was madly in love with? And more importantly who would be stupid enough to reject THE Adrien Agreste?! Everything about him was flawless, he was a model for gods sake! Everything from his golden hair to his intimidating emerald eyes was perfect. He was also a very nice person, willing to help out and stand up for people if he needed to, which was what made Marinette love the gorgeous blonde model even more. She could see no reason for anybody to reject him!

Whilst the teacher had her back turned writing notes on the board, Adrien also felt his mind begin to wander once more, and made a mental note that he would have to stop doing this. He wondered about the raven haired girl beside him, and all the time they'd been in high school together. He was curious as to why she was always so nervous around him and why she could never seem to form a comprehensive sentence in his presence. It also made him curious as to why when he asked for help that she seemed to give him a coherent answer without thinking, as if all the other times didn't matter anymore. He'd also seen her stand up for their classmates in their time of need, up against people like Chloe, displaying quite a bit of confidence. Whatever the case was, he liked this confident Marinette and he wanted to get to know her better.

This had been one of the first days since he met Ladybug that he hadn't been constantly thinking about her, he was surprised how much that this seemed to bother him last night but how little it did so now. It was true she did cross his mind a few times that day, but not nearly as many as she usually did.

For the rest of the day, Marinette and Adrien hung out together during the school hours, for some reason Alya and Nino seemed to be avoiding them. Neither of the two seemed to mind much though. Apart from a few awkward silences, they both shared some pretty insightful and interesting conversations, something they were both not used to. Adrien knew Mari was quiet, but he'd always thought she didn't like him at all because of the gum incident when they first met. And now that she'd come out of her shell, he was seeing a whole new side of her. He wasn't going to lie... he liked it, and he liked it a lot.


	2. Chapter 2

****A/N- I'm really enjoying writing this, Adrienette is my second favourite ship after Marichat of course. I'm still new to fanfiction writing so I would appreciate any constructive feedback. I'd like to thank the people who did write me some feedback, it really helped me in this chapter, because although I have an end goal in mind, I didn't know how I was going to get there. So I dedicate this update to you guys! :)****

A small and lithe girl with windblown raven hair in a spotted red suit stood on the edge of a tall building beside him. They exchanged glances and both smiled warmly at one another. Paris was safe thanks to them. He reached out for her arm slowly, and as she turned her gaze from the city below to his eyes, she gave it to him. It was small in his grasp but soft and just as he always imagined it would feel. With this, Ladybug looked deep into his eyes and gave him a very flirty smile that drove his mind insane and then she began to pull him in closer. They were in each other's warm and comfortable embrace, they could feel each other's hearts beating together as one. They stood there for what seemed like a blissful eternity. Ladybug pulled back slightly and gazed upwards into his eyes again. He bent his neck down to her level. They both closed their eyes as their faces edged closer towards one another. It was at this moment that Adrien realised how perfect everything was.

He opened his eyes after a while when his lips met only air, and then time stopped dead in its tracks. He was still holding both of her arms firmly in his grasp, only she was dangling over the edge of the building.

She screamed as she looked down. Her yoyo was nowhere to be seen.

"Adrien! Don't let go of me!" She shreiked through tears. Terrified, Adrien tried to harden his grip, he couldn't let her go

He held on as tight as he possibly could. His strength was extraordinary because of his alter ego life that he lived, but even that wasn't enough. No matter how hard he held on, she seemed to slip out of his grip regardless. He had to, there was no way he was going to save her. He let go of her.

Her screams echoed through the atmosphere, the kind of screams that made his blood run cold. It pierced through his gut and seered towards every end in his body. Her desperate shrieks for help tore through him, ripping his heart from his chest, shattering it into hundred of different pieces. He couldn't do anything. He was frozen still as a statue on the spot. She kept on falling, further and further until her small red body could be seen no longer and the harrowing cries went silent. He stood there, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He had let her go. He let his lady go.

Adrien shot straight up in bed, sweat dripping down his face. _What a terrible nightmare_ , he thought to himself. Why was this one recurring? He was breathing rapidly, every moment of that horrifying dream seemed to be replaying in his head. Why did he always let her go? Why did he always let her fall even though he wanted to keep a hold of her? He couldn't think straight, it had messed with his train of thought. So instead of going back to bed where the nightmares would probably continue to plague him, he decided to take a long thoughtful shower before he had to start getting ready for the day that await him at school.

"Adrien? Hey, dude! Is anybody there?" Adrien awoke to the sound of his best friend waving his hands around his face. The fact dawned on him that the nightmares he had been having the past week had been depriving him of his much needed sleep. After a moment, when his brain had registered that another person was talking to him, he looked up into Nino's eyes, and emitted a long and deep audible breath which he hoped would express his tiredness.

"How long was I out?" he questioned, almost unsurprised.

"You passed out around five minutes after class started, so I'd say at least an hour." Nino replied, gathering up Adrien's things for him so they could go to lunch.

"Sorry, I'm having trouble sleeping at the moment."

"Well that much I figured for myself. Nightmares troubling you again?"

Adrien nodded and then stretched as he yawned loudly. That wasn't the only reason why, but he figured Nino didn't need to know about his undying love for Paris's most renowned superheroes.

"Bro you need some help, why don't you talk to somebody?" his best friend suggested.

All the blonde boy could do was shrug. So he got up and followed Nino out of the classroom for lunch

Lunch consisted of two things. Nino, Alya and Marinette discussing places to hang out after school, and Adrien desperately trying to keep his eyelids open. Key word: trying. Words that should have been used: failing miserably. Nino had laughed at this, he thought it was hilarious. Marinette had shot him worried looks every so often and Alya just constantly shook her head at him.

When the bell had shaken him awake, he decided he'd better check his timetable to remember what class he had next.

"You got physics with Mari," Alya finished for him over his shoulder, and walked off, hand in hand with his friend to wherever they were going. He quickly put away the paper again, and then wondered to himself how she knew that. He quickly brushed the thought away.

He glanced down at his classmate who gave him a timid smile and a small wave. He gave her a friendly smile in return. They set off towards the science department.

The silence between the two wasn't uncomfortable in Adrien's opinion, but it definitely wasn't pleasant either. It was slightly awkward because she couldn't seem to muster up any courage to say anything, and in turn he didn't know what to say to her. One thing was for sure, she definitely hated him and he aimed to change that.

"So, Mari, what're you going to do when you finish school?" he asked, and then immediately regretted it because he already knew. She was going to fashion design. And she was really good at it too.

"I'm going to design clothes, hopefully, how about you?" she replied. This caught him by surprise because she didn't seem to stutter a word of it.

He thought for a moment, he didn't actually know. After all these years of being controlled by his father, he just assumed that after he finished school he'd continue the same path. Bu then he realised that wasn't what he wanted to do.

"I'm not sure, but I don't want to continue with my father's work, that's for sure. I want to lead my own life, not one that's been set aside for me already." he put.

"T-tha's very admirable, I Mean, t-to want to go y-your own way." She raised her hand to brush the loose hair in her face behind her ear. Her now visible cheeks were a very bright shade of pink.

If Adrien wasn't madly in love with Ladybug, he would have almost thought that the action was adorable.

"Thanks," he gave her another smile. This got him thinking though. He really wanted to know about his dream but he had no clue who to ask. He hadn't gone to Nino because Nino would have probably laughed at him. Alya seemed like a person who couldn't keep very many secrets, so she was out of the question as well. Which left the shy blue haired girl beside him. It was true she did give good advice to him the other day, and she seemed like a good secret keeper just because of how quiet she came across. He decided that if he was going to get advice from somebody, it was her or nobody.

"Mari?" he asked gently. He watched as she jumped at the sudden mention of her name. The silence probably didn't help that to be fair. She looked up at him and then blushed a deep shade of red.

"Y-yes?" she stammered, obviously trying to regain herself.

Adrien chuckled at this, he had always noticed how clumsy she was, and it was pretty cute. Yet he had also noticed that she was usually confident around her classmates as well, everyone except him. He'd learnt to accept this fact, even thought it did kind of hurt that she didn't like him enough to talk to him properly.

"I keep having nightmares, and I didn't know who to talk about them to until now."

He watched as she took a deep breath in, it looked like she was trying to compose herself.

"Of course I you can help. I MEAN CAN HELP YOU!" The words came out jumbled, as she often did around him. He had to admit that this was pretty funny.

During the rest of the trip to class, he explained his recurring dream in great detail, making sure to tell it as it was, but without mentioning his lady.

They had sat together, much to Chloe's disgust, and continued their conversation over paper so the teacher wouldn't hear.

 _It sounds like you must really love this girl then_ , she wrote. He noticed her eyes had found his as she passed the page back to him to write something. There was something off about them.

 _I do, quite a lot actually. But it goes unnoticed_. he hastily scribbled and handed it back to her. She opened it and then looked at him again. This time he could have sworn that the look in her eyes was lonesome, if not, then longing. A certain glint gave Adrien the impression that there was a world of darkness behind them. He couldn't understand why though, she of all people seemed optimistic, not to mention she had a pretty awesome home life. he couldn't see any reason for her to be upset.

She stared at the page as if deep in thought, and then she picked up her pen to write a reply. She handed it back.

 _I know how that feels._

Adrien glanced at the raven haired girl for a moment and sighed for her. How could anybody be so oblivious to sweet Marinette? She was kind, confident, and pretty much everything else. She looked troubled at this moment, and he just wanted to hug her better. Whoever the douche was that didn't appreciate her for who she is didn't deserve her. He glided his pen across the paper.

 _Well, what a douche he is_ , _give me his name so I can beat him up for you_

He handed the slip to her, and chuckled as her entire face lit up at his note. She giggled, probably a little too loud, because the teacher turned around and scolded them both for passing notes. Adrien could hear Chloe and Sabrina sniggering from the desk across from them, and he glared daggers in return.

After school had finished for the day, he ran up to meet his friends who were huddled just outside the school's entrance.

Nino had Alya in his arms, cuddling her comfortably as Marinette conversed with them.

"So my bakery in about half an hour?" the ravenette asked the duo.

"What's this about?" The blonde model questioned as he approached the group.

"We're going to Mari's to do some homework together, you know for moral support and stuff. You're welcome to join, if you aren't busy?" Alya offered.

Adrien thought about his usually busy schedule and remembered that Natalie, his father's assistant, had cancelled this afternoon's photoshoot because the photographer couldn't make it.

He gave a thumbs up, "Sounds good, see you in about half an hour then," he said, as he walked towards the limo that was awaiting him.

The trip to his home was extremely long and unnerving, Natalie had greeted him by informing him that his father wished to speak to him as soon as he got home. This in Adrien's mind always meant trouble. He could have sworn that his father only cared about him when it came to photoshoots and preserving the Agreste name. That was also one of the most prominent reasons why he missed his mother so much, because his mother was compassionate, kind and loving. His father didn't care about him unless it meant he was at stake somehow.

This filled Adrien with a deep sense of sorrow, and maybe even disappointment. He could feel his stomach churning with nerves, he hoped his father would go easy on him.

As he carried himself up the dreaded steps that lead to the doorway of his father's office, Adrien found himself dreading the next few moments to come. He rapped his fist gently on the door, until he heard a quiet "you may enter". And so he did.

"Good evening father," he faked a smile. His father's stone cold facial expressions didn't change a bit, he remained as emotionless as ever.

"As you know your photoshoot was cancelled, I just wanted to let you know that it has been rescheduled for tomorrow at lunchtime, which will be followed up by the 3pm one as well just as planned." His father turned away to look back at his paperwork on his desk. He never seemed to have any personal time to spend with Adrien, and this made Adrien feel very neglected.

"In case you didn't realise, Adrien, when I stop talking that means you can leave," he looked his father in the eyes, they were an icy blue which suited his very cold personality.

The blonde boy nodded with a frown and turned to walk out, the door slammed behind him with a very loud THUD as he continued on his way. Before his father had let him go to public school, loneliness had been his only friend, there for him every time of day. Apart from Chloe of course, but even then, he didn't really see her often or enjoy her presence very much. Ever since his mother had disappeared, Adrien felt like he was the most isolated and alone person on the planet. That was why he missed her so much, because when she went away, his father barely acknowledged his existence.

The blonde boy had mixed emotions running a marathon through his head, he decided he would start walking to Marinette's place now. His friends always made everything better. He sincerely hoped that the sight of them would put a newfound smile upon his face.

As he was walking, something in his stomach was making him feel sick. He stopped to think about it carefully for a second. Was it fluttering? and if it was, did that mean he was nervous?

He quickly shooed the thought away and continued on until he saw the familiar sign of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery just ahead of him.

Excitement flowed through him, he could almost smell the croissants from here. He felt his legs carry him forward without effort. He was coming for them, and none of them would be safe once Adrien Agreste got there.

 **A/N-That's it for now, next chapter will include some serious progress ;) see you all next time :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Pushing open the door of the bakery, Adrien's nose encountered the heavenly scent of all the freshly baked pastries awaiting inside. He could smell a mixture of fruity essences as well as the mouthwatering aroma of freshly baked bread, wafting through the air. When he looked around he saw shelves full of cupcakes, macaroons, croissants and pretty much anything else. In the stands there were delicate looking layered cakes that were each carefully decorated in their own unique ways. The tables for customers each came with a vase of fresh flowers, which was unnecessary in his opinion, because the room was already beautiful enough.

He was so distracted he didn't even notice a small Chinese woman walk out from behind the counter to greet him. He turned to her and smiled when he saw her. She had short blue hair, much like Marinette's, and wore an apron over her dress.

"Hello, how can I help you, dear?" she greeted him politely.

"Hey, my name's Adrien, I'm one of Marinette's friends, she organized study session here after school?"

He watched as she smiled. "I'm Marinette's mother, but you can call me Sabine. She's upstairs in her room." Adrien then watched as she began to chuckle. "She talks a lot about you, you know?"

Confusion swept through him like a storm. Did he hear that right? Why would Mari talk about him? She probably ranted about how much she hated him, because that was what made the most sense to him. The thought was brushed away as her mother told him to head on up, handing him a few treats from the stands.

He decided it would be very polite if he knocked on her door before entering, and so that was exactly what he did.

"Hey, Mari, it's me, can I come in?" he asked through the door.

He heard a CRASH. There were footsteps wandering all around her room and he could have sworn he heard a panicked scream or two.

"Give me a minute!" He heard her yell from inside. He wondered why he sensed a frightened tone in her voice. He stood there in silence, feeling slightly awkward for around thirty seconds before the door swung open to reveal a very sweaty and flustered looking Marinette hiding behind it.

Adrien flashed her a friendly smile and a wave. He watched as she turned a very deep shade of red, much like she usually did. He felt himself raise one of his arms to scratch he back of his neck, once again the feeling of awkwardness creeping back up on him.

"Were you okay? There was a lot of loud noises in there before," he asked, giving her a sincere look of concern.

"Y-yeah... uh... I was just doing some... Cleaning! Yes cleaning!" her eyes looked to the ground as she avoided his eye contact. He looked past her at her room and various pinks flooded his vision. When his eyes adjusted to this, he laid eyes on many posters that were stuck to her walls. They featured many different models showing off plenty of different varieties of fashion-wear. He also noticed several family photos in one corner. She had a messy computer desk, accompanied by a sewing station, obviously where she created all of her fantastic designs. There was a ladder that lead to her bed and a trapdoor just above that. And to complete her room, he saw a comfortable looking chaise in the corner.

"I love your room, it's so cozy" he complimented her, walking through the door when she gestured him inside.

"T-thanks Adrien, would you like anything to drink?" she offered, a tray of juice sitting on her desk. He accepted, and observed as she carefully poured him a glass. Her hands were shaking. Was she nervous? What was she nervous about? His newfound curiosity prevented him from thinking straight.

"Mari, do I make you nervous?" he blurted, regretting it instantly. Why did he have to ask that? He already knew the answer after all. He felt himself internally cringe, and hoped to death that she would just ignore the question, or maybe she didn't hear. But he knew that this would have been too good to be true, he had practically shouted at her.

"N-nooooo. Why w-would you think that?" she managed, handing him the glass full of juice, turning her back to pour her own drink. Damnit she had heard him.

Adrien felt himself frown as he stared at the juice in his hands. That was a very hesitant answer. He figured he'd already dug himself a hole, so he continued on.

"Then why are you always jumpy and on edge when you talk to me?"

A stillness silent enough you could hear a pin drop swept across the room. He watched as Marinette bit her bottom lip and began fiddling with the glass cup in her hands. Her eyes shifted towards the posters that plastered her walls. Adrien regretted everything he had said, wished he could take it all back. He should have kept his mouth shut.

"I'm sorry, Mari, I shouldn't have asked such a personal question." he found himself apologising. He was such a dumbass. Why did he have to ruin a good moment like this.

Marinette looked at him and then gave a very small smile.

"It's okay, I'm sorry if I appear that way to you."

"Hey dudes! Who's ready for a full on study session?" A voice interrupted, coming from the doorway. They both glanced over to see Nino walking into her room, closely followed behind by Alya. They both had their school books in hand.

"Sure!" The two awkward teens chanted together. Anything to distract them from the conversation they just had.

For the next half hour, the four friends all worked on their English assignments as a team. The room was filled with the quiet sound of idle chatter, completed with the faint smell of treats that Adrien occasionally munched on in between writing notes.

"This is fantastic, Mari! I can't critisise anything!" Alya complimented the raven haired girl's assignment. She looked at Nino and Adrien and handed Marinette's paper to them and watched as they both scanned over her work.

"I agree with Alya, this is almost flawless," Adrien gaped and Nino nodded slowly beside him.

Marinette couldn't help but blush at that comment, she wondered how that made her look from his perspective.

"Well, I should get going, I have to babysit the twins tonight," Adrien watched as Alya stood up and began to make her way outside the room, back towards the bakery. He giggled when he noticed Nino jump up and follow her like a pet dog. He definitely liked her a lot, the blonde could tell just by the way his friend looked at her.

Subconsciously, his eyes wandered to the lithe blue haired girl that stood just a few meters from him. She wore her hair in two pigtails like she normally did, as well as her clothing, which she also seemed to wear quite often. She had on the same pink jeans and white floral top as she normally did, and she completed the look with her dark grey blazer. The outfit seemed to hug her curvy figure nicely. His emerald eyes found her friendly bluebell ones. He stared deep into them, wondering her innermost thoughts. He knew she had always been a pretty girl, but had she always been this pretty?

"Bye Alya and Nino!" she called after them. She turned to face him, and he noticed how her face began to deepen in colour. He had to diffuse the ever growing tension somehow.

"Well since they're gone, did you want to do some physics? I could use some of your notes since I was asleep yesterday and talking to you most of today." He chuckled awkwardly. Marinette simply nodded and walked to the chaise where her schoolbag was sitting. She pulled out her physics notebook and sat down right beside where Adrien was seated.

She handed him the book and he began copying her notes down hastily.

"Thanks, Mari!" He watched as she giggled.

"A-anything for you, Adrien!" she stuttered. He really did appreciate her trying to help him out, even if he did already know all the stuff they were learning in class. Homeschooling was to thank for that. But he didn't have the heart to tell her this, and if he was honest, he was enjoying being in her presence, even if they weren't saying much to one another.

Once he had finished, he closed his book and put his things back into his school bag. Mari was still beside him, and looked like she was reciting some of the concepts in her head. He chuckled at this, he thought her look of deep concentration was extremely endearing. She looked up at him when she heard him laughing slightly. He didn't move his gaze even a little bit.

"Something wrong?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow at him. If he wasn't already sitting down, he might have fallen over. She just said something coherent around him! Even added a bit of cockiness to it. Happiness seared through him, he was finally making progress!

"Not at all, Mari," he grinned mischievously, hoping to provoke some sort of cocky response. His gaze didn't shift as he observed her face begin to mirror his. Her lips mimicked his own.

"I find your lack of truth disturbing..."

Adrien burst out in a fit of laughter. This girl was amazing! After such a long time without a proper conversation, here she was referencing one of his favourite movies!

"A Star Wars reference? That was awesome, Mari!" He found himself giggling like a little school girl as he leant backwards on the chair he was situated upon. He still couldn't take his eyes off her, watching as she giggled too. Her usually pink complexion was pale. The blonde supposed this was what she looked like naturally, when she wasn't nervous around him anyway. Her hair shone like the sea at night, the many dark blue strands tied back into her usual hairstyle of two pigtails glistened a shade of white from the rays of sunlight that travelled in through her window. Her eyes gave off a very confident impression to him, and made him feel as if she could handle anything that came her way. He was sure that was the case anyway. He couldn't help but notice the strange feeling in his gut. It made him feel slightly queasy, and there was a fluttering pain building up in his chest. Was he getting sick or something?

"Seriously, I need help with physics, Adrien. Not to mention, you could use my notes too, since our test is next week." Mari narrowed her eyes at him and then opened her book to the page they had been on previously that day. He decided it would be wise if he did the same, he figured that their time mucking round was cutting into their much needed catch up time. Although he was already familiar with the concepts they were required to understand due to his homeschooling life, Adrien was more than willing to help the small ravenette with her studies.

"Here," he went to hand her his notebook, "take mine, I've already learnt all about this topic anyway, so I won't need your notes, but, you might find my notes more helpful than your textbook." The model offered her a friendly smile.

She hesitated as she looked him in the eye, all the confidence melted away instantaneously. He pushed the book gently into her awaiting hand and she felt herself go crimson in the face. She allowed her arm to accept the offering, yet her eyes dare not move. Marinette felt her face redden even more as his friendly smile deepened. Man, why was she such a screw up?

For the next half hour or so, he assisted the small girl with her revision homework. He learnt that she was an extremely quick learner, as she picked up all the concepts pretty fast. The feeling in his gut didn't disappear, however, and this made him seriously worried, he hoped he wasn't going to be sick or anything. Especially not over at someone else's place, that would be just plain embarrassing, and then he would feel obligated to clean it up for them. These thoughts swirled around and remained in his head for the entire study session, and he wondered if he was just overthinking things. He would have to stop this, or he'd never sleep again. Then he'd have to come over to Marinette's all the time in order to study and catch up.

But then again, was that really such a bad thing?

He had to admit, an afternoon practically alone with the girl had made him appreciate her company just that little bit more. Before today, he had always believed that establishing a friendship with her would have been near impossible. However, now, he had some hope after all. Maybe, just maybe, with a little effort and a lot of time, she might open up to him, they could become close friends. He felt himself grin at the thought. His alter ego life certainly helped him out when it came to talking to people. This was something he made a mental note of striving to achieve.

"Done!" she exclaimed happily and shut the book, tossing it aside. She celebrated by throwing her arms in the air and resting backwards on her chair.

"Good job, Mari, you're a very quick learner!" Adrien complimented.

"N-no, I can't take a-all the credit! You're g-great teacher!" Marinette stuttered. Damnit. Well at least he had come close to normal conversation several times that afternoon. He was going to call this a win, regardless.

In honor of their hard work, Marinette offered to put on a movie for the blonde boy and her to watch. Although his father was probably going to be furious, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind and gladly accepted.

While the characters on the screen were having a conversation regarding each other, Adrien jumped in surprise as he felt a head rest on the tip of his shoulder. Turning his head gently, he noticed Mari had fallen asleep beside him, or rather half on him, and he found himself chuckling. Her hair was messy, and smelt like strawberries. Yes her face looked so peaceful. If he didn't know otherwise, he would have thought that she resembled Ladybug. But that wasn't possible. Was it?

She jolted upright as the credits began to roll, and Adrien gave her an amused expression.

"Sleep well?" he teased.

Her face widened in realization as she worked out what had happened.

"I'm s-so sorry!" She apologised, stressing herself out.

The blonde model chuckled once more and raised an arm to her shoulder for comfort.

"No harm done at all. I'd better get going. My father is probably going to kill me."

So Marinette waved him off goodbye. The boy walked home that night with a very noticeable spring in his step. This was probably the happiest he had been since his mother had mysteriously disappeared, and he wouldn't have traded this afternoon for the world. He wondered if Mari felt the same. But he realised, it didn't matter, today was progress of some sort. This made him jump with joy. Hopefully she would warm up to him in a friendly way soon. How lucky he felt to have such wonderful friends in his life.

 ** **A/N- Sorry about the late update, I've been working and attending school for the past week and a half and have had next to no chance to write. I hope you like this chapter! The next one will be out as soon as I have some more spare time. Also, nearly 1k views? Thanks everyone so much! I never expected to get this much attention! Until next time :)****


	4. Chapter 4

****A/N- Okay I'm sorry this took way longer than usual, I have about three reasons why I didn't update earlier, including 1) I was at an extremely bad writers block, 2) I just moved houses and 3) School started up and now the homework demands have begun. Anyway hope it was worth it, thank you guys, enjoy!****

"I'm very disappointed in you son," the harsh and stone cold tone of his father's voice echoed throughout their unnecessarily large and empty home, making him feel a deep sense of loneliness. Although he wasn't looking, he could feel the prying eyes watching his every move as he avoided the direct form of contact. Not only was Adrien feeling sorry for himself, but newfound anger began to surge through his body.

"I'm sorry I was out so late, Father, I was studying for school with my friends."

A volt of fear ran through his spine, sending out cold shivers as he awaited his father's reply.

"You should be using your spare time to practice your piano or Chinese, not muck around with other kids your age! You're wasting time! Not only that, but they're obviously a bad influence on you." Gabriel began to raise his voice.

As if he was a boiling kettle, the whistle on his top was about to blow. He felt himself unable to stop the oncoming wave of frustration. His fists clenched at his sides. How dare he say that about his friends?

"Father, you're wrong!" he blurted out, listening as his voice echoed against the walls surrounding him. He watched as the stern facial expression on his father melted into a taken aback one.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, you're WRONG!" Adrien finished, feeling himself getting more emotional than necessary. He took a deep breath to calm himself. His father stood in a solemn silence. "You're wrong, Father! My friends are the most fantastic people in this world. They've supported me through more than you ever have! As soon as Mum left us, I became just a trophy to you! I'm done. Done with being your puppet. I can't keep living a life like this. I do absolutely everything you ask of me, and it's never good enough for you! Do you think I like having my entire life planned out for me? Everything being dictated to me? Of course I don't, I'm not a slave or a something to mess around with when you're bored. I'm a person too, Father, and I wish you'd start treating me like one. Stop blaming my want for freedom on the people I hang around, because they aren't the problem, you are!"

His father looked at him with sadness visible in his eyes. This was something Adrien never saw in him. However, the blonde should have known better than to expect his father to open up to him.

"How dare you speak to me like that, I am your parental guardian, you ungrateful boy!" His father's voiced boomed across the house, and maybe if the model hadn't heard him talking to his agents like that all the time, he might feel afraid. But all he felt was utter resentment.

"Well then maybe you should start acting LIKE ONE!"

The loud sound of his footsteps was carried all throughout the mansion. He felt his legs carrying him away from his dad and towards his room. Maybe he could simmer down there without the heavy pressure being put on his shoulders.

He opened his door and slammed it loudly behind him. He looked around. His huge collection of movies and books. His giant skateboard rink. The gaming arcade machines. His giant TV. Even his own private bathroom. It all meant absolutely nothing to him. A single wet droplet rolled down his cheek and splashed into the floor. He had what every person would dream of owning. But he would willingly trade everything he had for a happy family once more. He would gladly give him fame and riches to see his mother once more. The vague memory of her sunshine blonde hair shimmering like gold in the sunlight, the way her eyes glittered like emeralds. It made his heart ache. He longed for her touch. For her to kiss him goodnight. For one of her compassionate hugs. But if all of that was too much to ask for, more than anything, he wished he had the chance to say goodbye.

If Marinette had ever freaked out about anything in her life, she had never been as freaked out as she was at this moment. Tikki had tried to calm her down, but nothing seemed to work. The blue haired girl was too worked up. She kept pacing backward and forwards in the same spot, the small kwami swore she was going to wear a hole into it.

What was she thinking? She was such a mess around Adrien that afternoon, it was shameful! Not only had she tried to ignore his very fair question, but then she proceeded to fall asleep on him!

He probably thought she was a total weirdo. She could forget about him ever noticing her. Marinette frowned and then looked over to her wall. She had covered it up with posters of other fashion designers to conceal her embarassing collection of posters of Adrien, in an attempt to prevent him from thinking she was any weirder than he already did. She felt extremely ashamed in herself. Although, if she was proud of one thing, it was the fact that the two had shared an actual conversation where there was no stuttering or awkwardness at all.

A tiny amount of weight pressed against her shoulder, and she could feel tiny hands patting her neck gently.

"Mari, you've been at this for the past three hours, I'm sure it's completely fine. Seriously, you're overreacting!" the tiny voice called. It felt sympathetic and allowed the girl to relax, but only slightly.

"He thinks I'm weird. Don't deny it! I'm never going to get him to notice me at this point!" the raven haired girl wailed, slumping down on her chaise in defeat.

"Why would anyone think you're weird? You're not, you're unique, there's a significant difference" Tikki sighed, Marinette often freaked out over stupid little things like this. Despite there being a huge hassle each time, she usually got over it and figured out a solution. The small creature had faith in the girl, she was certainly capable of solving this, even if she disagreed.

"I know you're probably right, but I certainly screwed up. I had a perfect opportunity to tell him how I feel about him and all I did was make it awkward for the both of us. Urrrrrrrgh! Why does he have to be so perfect that I can't think straight!?" Marinette sighed and then rested her head on the back of her chaise.

Tikki was at a loss on what to say. She could only hope that her holder would soon figure out and resolve this conflict on her own.

"What if you did tell him then? Maybe he has feelings for you too?" the kwami suggested, shrugging her teeny little shoulders.

"Don't be ridiculous! I can't even talk to him properly, why would he like me? And besides, if I can't even talk to him, why would I confess my undying love for him?"

This girl was definitely overreacting. Tikki had tried to tell her this many times before, because she was notorious for it, but the blue haired superheroine would never listen no matter how much sense she attempted to talk into her.

Marinette sat there for a long while and just stared into the distance. If she could have counted all the different things that were running through her mind right at that moment, she would have been stuck in that position for all of eternity. Her thoughts wandered off to school. How would she ever go to school again? He would be there, awaiting her in the seat just in front of her as he always was. How could she face him after being such a weirdo around him the day previously? Granted she knew she was probably overreacting, he was too nice to think poorly of anybody, that was probably why he put up with Chloe and her shenanigans. However, this didn't stop her from overthinking, not one bit.

She groaned. How was she ever going to marry the love of her life if she couldn't get through one afternoon without freaking out. After all she had fallen asleep on Adrien Agreste. She was pretty sure that outdid every other girl in Paris in terms of how close anybody had gotten to the model. Heck, Chloe would glow green with raging envy. That thought made her grin to herself. A

She wondered about how she would explain this entire situation to Alya, the blogger would internally combust when she broke the news to her. Marinette had lost count of the many times she had made statements about how she "ships" them together. It was nice of her, but it certainly got annoying after a while.

The blue haired girl pulled out her phone and shot her best friend a text.

Marinette: Hey Alya!

She didn't have to wait long though, she figured that would be the case as the red haired girl always had her phone on hand. Tikki decided to retreat to the pillow that resided beside the bed and get some rest.

Alya: Hey girl, how was the "study session"?

Marinette didn't know if she liked the implications her friend was making.

Marinette: Mortifying! I fell asleep on him!

Alya: Dayuuuum Mari! I was only joking! I didn't expect u to take it that far! I hope u 2 wore protection ;)

Marinette: Get ur mind outta the gutter, we just watched a movie together and I got comfortable

Alya: Woulda been so adorable too! Damnit me and Nino shouldn't've left.

Marinette: I'm freaking out about it. What if he thinks I'm weird? WHAT IF HE HATES ME NOW?

Alya: I doubt that Mari, did he wake u up?

Marinette: No he didn't, he laughed at me when I did though

Alya: Girl, he's totally into u. No guy lets a enjoys a girl sleeping on him unless he likes her.

Marinette: Don't kid urself, I'm invisible to him. He wouldn't notice me, I'm too ordinary.

Alya: Bullsh*t! U have that attitude and ur gonna die alone

Marinette: The love advice he wanted was about another girl, Alya, I know it was.

Alya: Whatever u say, I know love when I see it, so if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go out and pick my bridesmaid dress

Marinette: Even if I did marry him, what makes you think you'd be my bridesmaid?

Alya: Mari, please. Now you're just embarrassing urself. Gtg, babysitting awaits.

With that the blue haired girl turned off her phone tossed it aside. She figured a good nights sleep was a start in regards to how she was going to tackle school the next day. Slipping into her pajamas, she hastily jumped into bed and pulled the covers up over her body, which immediately engulfed her in a comfortable warmth. Slowly but surely, she drifted off into a nice deep sleep.

Ladybug drifted in and out of Adrien's mind, plaguing him, and preventing him from his much needed sleep. That and the conversation he had with his father earlier. He had already given up trying, so he decided it would be more beneficial to, instead of attempt to sleep, patrol around Paris for a while to get things off his mind. Plagg had insisted on plenty of cheese as payment for being woken up in the middle of the night, which the blonde model had been happy to oblige.

Running across rooftops, leaping from ledge to ledge, Adrien continued on his way, letting his instinct carry him forth. With every extension of his baton, every leap off his feet, he felt the ginormous pressure of being the son of Gabriel Agreste lifting off of his shoulders and freeing him of the burden he never wanted to carry.

He sat ontop of the Eiffel Tower, pondering deeply about the events to come. What was he going to do about his Ladybug situation? Should he confess to her? He tried to picture his lady in his mind, attempting to focus on one thing at once. However, he found it really strange that the only thing that came to mind was his shy classmate, Marinette. He was still in disbelief that she had managed to speak coherent words around him, it gave him solace to know that his efforts were finally somewhat paying off. Hopefully with a little more time and convincing, she would trust him a little more, after all she did fall asleep on him. That was a step in the right direction in his mind.

He shook his head quickly, he wasn't out to think about Marinette, or even Ladybug for that matter, he was out to clear his mind, and hopefully get over the fact that he had literally called his father a terrible parent.

He froze. The thought had crossed his mind before, but he never contemplated the consequences of his actions. He had insulted his father. What did that mean for him in terms of repercussions? Would he be pulled from school? Would his friends be blamed again for being bad influences? Would he be once again condemned to the solitude of the giant empty house he lived in? A painful shot of panic swept through his body, making him shiver in fear. His father was not a man to annoy or toy with, and he knew from firsthand experience that you wouldn't want top get on his bad side. In another way his terror faded to a deep sorrow that engulfed him. He figured that it wasn't normal to be low-key scared of your own Dad, and he only wished that they could share a standard parental/son relationship. When he had lost his kind and compassionate mother, he had also lost his father.

He was entranced in thought, trapped in his own mind for what seemed like forever, until the soft glow of the city beneath him caught his attention. Yellow lights illuminated the streets and orange ones the buildings that covered every inch of his vision. It wasn't perfectly arranged as such, but it still seemed aesthetically pleasing to his eyes. He watched as the few cars that still remained outside moved slowly to their destinations. He glanced upwards towards the glowing sky. The crescent moon resided in view along with the countless amounts of twinkling lights that sparkled beautifully.

It seemed peaceful almost, something that he, as a superhero, was fairly unfamiliar with. Even though he enjoyed his commitment as Chat Noir, he had to admit it's a pretty tiring job to handle. His shoulders lowered as he took a deep breath in and then exhaled. This was the first time in his life he had ever felt relaxed.

After a bit more wondering about current events, Adrien decided to go home and sleep it off, or at least try to anyway. He was now content with the fact that he would have to face his father in the morning, because he was going to stand his ground again. The blonde model did not regret telling his father how he felt, and sincerely hoped that the punishment wouldn't be too severe.

As soon as he jumped into the window, he detransformed and handed his hungry kwami some more cheese to shut him up until morning, before he himself hopped into the covers and closed his eyes without a second to lose.


	5. Chapter 5

****A/N- Guys I apologise so much for the inconsistent uploading of chapters lately. School started back up and the assessment pressure is intense. Thanks for understanding, hope you enjoy :) p.s we about to get interesting here ;) ;)****

He awoke to the glistening rays of light, radiating from his enormous window. The sound of pigeons cooing happily and basking in the morning sunlight filled him with an indescribable sense of joy, allowing happiness to flow through him as he stretched his arms outwards in a yawn. He would have predicted it to be a very good day judging by the weather outside, that is, if the memories of the previous day hadn't have came flooding back into his mind. The boy groaned, wishing he that he could lie in bed forever. Facing his father was probably one of the last things he ever wanted to do right now. He would definitely have some new method of torturing him for what he said yesterday. Maybe Adrien would be forced to undertake another extra-curricular so that he had less free time to himself? That seemed like something the old guy would do.

Reluctantly, Adrien arose from the safety of his bedsheets and began to prepare himself both physically and mentally for the scolding to come. He threw on his usual clothes and neatened up his hair. Plagg hid in the pocket of his over shirt and accompanied the model as he made the dreaded trip down to the dining room, where his father was inevitably waiting for him to make an appearance.

Gabriel Agreste sat at the huge table in the dining room, just like he did every other morning, and awaited his son to show up. There were plates of food in the center, just sitting there waiting to be eaten. However there was way too much for just him. He held a tablet in his hands and continued to plan his latest fashion line release. Adrien slowly made his way to a chair, opposite of his father and sat down, feeling rather tense. He wouldn't have called it awkward, just extremely uncomfortable. The cold aura given off by his dad didn' even begin to scratch the surface of this problem. It was kind of sad that his father could make him feel that way.

He decided it would be best if he said something first, so eventually, when he mustered up enough courage, the model cleared his throat.

"Good morning, Father..." he spoke as clearly and confidently as he possibly could, but even he could have noticed the fear in his own tone, and he sincerely hoped that his father wouldn't take advantage of this fact.

Gabriel looked up from his work and nodded.

"Good morning, son. I trust you slept well?" Adrien was confused, he was expecting an immediate scolding for his behavior. He reached out and helped himself to a croissant. he replied a polite yes to the man across from him and awkwardly munched on the pastry in his hands.

"As always," He lied, but despite that, he had to admit he had almost forgot what a solid 4 hours or more felt like.

"I hope so, you have a photoshoot scheduled for this afternoon as soon as school finishes. I need you to be there and look perfect because it's for my next line of shirts coming out." His father didn't even look up from his tablet as he said this to his son. He continued to tap away, neglecting the fact Adrien was practically death glaring him as all of his fear faded away instantaneously.

The blonde boy was fuming, had his father completely ignored the conversation they had had yesterday? Was he daft or something?

"Before you begin to disrespect me again, I'll have you know I cancelled all of your plans next week so you can do whatever you please with your spare time. One week though, and one week only. And if I find out you've done anything to tarnish the Agreste name in any way, shape or form, I will not be so generous again." The tension faded in the room, and Adrien's anger dissolved like aspirin in water. This certainly wasn't the greatest thing in the world ever, but it was his father actually letting him do something and it was one week where he could hang out with his friends and actually have a normal teenaged life. Whatever the case, he was grateful for this opportunity and was not going to pass it down.

He thanked his father as he finished the remaining crumbs of his breakfast, and then wandered to the front of his house where the Gorilla was awaiting him in the limo.

Nino wasn't at school that day, Alya had informed him that he had the stomach bug. He had accepted the fact that he would be lonely in Maths and English in terms of someone to sit next to. He wasn't completely bummed out because he still had Marinette and Alya to hang out with during lunchtimes. It would be a perfect opportunity to get to know the shy girl more like he kept telling himself he wanted to do.

His thoughts were interrupted by the all too familiar screaming of the mayor's daughter from behind him.

"Adrien! Help me! The nasty girl is out to get me!" she shrieked, panic evident in her voice. She threw herself over him, wrapping her arms around his waist for protection. He sighed.

"What's wrong Chloe? Who did you piss off this time?" Adrien did not want to solve her problems for her. Nor did he feel like being her teddy bear whenever something went bad. He would stick to being her friend and nothing else.

She narrowed her eyebrows at him for a split second before she reverted back to the drama queen pose. One hand on her hips and the back of her other rested on her forehead.

"Oh Adrikins! This is a serious predicament!This girl in the school yard was pulling pranks! Now she's out to get me too!" She screamed, pointing to the door of the classroom.

The blonde model stared at the girl in yellow in disbelief. Was she actually being serious?

CRASH!  
Screams erupted from the back of the classroom where a huge hole in the wall had exploded. A former student stood in the middle of the explosion, a devilish smile sprawled across her face as she laughed maniacally, slowly advancing forwards. Replacing her casual clothing, she wore a clown costume. Even her face was covered in scary looking make up. She placed her hands in her pockets and pulled out various different trinkets Adrien had never seen before. One of them looked like it resembled an air horn, but he couldn't have been sure as he had never actually seen one before. Another looked like a small pouch, but it was filled with something smelly, which he figured most likely a stink bomb.

"Hey, Hey, HEY! It's everyone's favourite class clown, Miss Chievous! For my next act, I'm gonna need a volunteer from the audience. Preferably a spoilt brat dressed yellow, maybe with blonde hair!"

Chloe screamed and then ran outside of the door as fast as her short legs could carry her. Adrien shook his head and rolled his eyes. She had the heart of a lion.

"Everybody out!" he ordered, and ushered people to exit the classroom. People all around the place poured out of the school to escape the wrath of the akuma.

"Alya, run, I'll be right behind you, I just have to grab something!" He heard Marinette assure her friend from the other side of the space. His gaze turned to Alya who was too busy getting her phone out to film the events unfurling in front of her eyes. She nodded and made her way out, grasping the device tightly in her hands. He wanted to yell at her. Tell her to run also. But his thoughts were interrupted.

The victim hurled stink bombs at him, which he dodged with his superhero reflexes. There was an explosion behind him, and an awful stench polluted the air. It was a mixture between really old eggs and something dead, at least thats what he thought anyway. His hands muffled his mouth and nose as he coughed his lungs out, trying desperately to reach fresh air. He ran outside of the classroom and into the nearest janitor closet, shutting the door abruptly behind him in hopes nobody had seen him go in.

"Plagg, come on! We've got a city to save!" he exclaimed to his pocket. A tiny black cat flew out and looked at him with a tired expression, as if he had been doing stuff all day long, when in fact he had actually been pigging out on camembert. "Plagg, claws out!"

He held out his hand and watched as the small kwami was sucked into his black ring.  
The small space was engulfed in a bright green light as the skin tight leather cat suit wrapped itself around the model, and where Adrien once stood, Paris's saviour, Chat Noir now replaced him.

Kicking the door of the closet open, his superhero instincts carried him forwards, across the courtyard and back in the classroom he had previously fled moments ago. He glanced around the now empty and seemingly deserted room. There wasn't a soul in sight. However there was now another hole in the wall, and where the tall window that gave a view of the city was smashed into thousands of tiny and dangerous shards. He walked up through the rows of desks and something pink and floral caught his eyes. It was a handbag decorated with intriqute patterns. He immediately recognised the material. It was Marinette's.

Fear surged through his veins, his gulped as his stomach made a small flip at this. She could be absolutely anywhere. So he had no reason to panic, right? But the voice in the back of his head was contradicting those thoughts. It was highly possible Mari had been captured by the akuma, and if that was the case, it was entirely his fault. He should have pushed through the gas to save her. He should have told her to run. Now because he didn't, she could be in trouble.

He picked it up and looked at the decorations carefully, the designs on it were so unique, it definitely reminded him of her. Placing it gently on her seat, he retreated from the classroom through the hole in the wall, and extended his baton to the neighbouring building. If she had been indeed captured by the so called "Miss Chievous", then the best possible thing he could do to help her was break the object where the akuma was hiding.

Landing with both feet on the ground, he looked around, searching for any signs of where the akuma had gone. If he wasn't preoccupied with ]chasing one of Hawkmoth's slaves, he probably would have better noticed the clear sky above his head. Today was shaping up to be a really nice day apart from the obvious.

He stopped when he heard a pair of small feet creeping up behind him, and then he smiled.

"Afternoon, M'lady," he turned around and bowed towards the girl in red. His heart began to race, and he felt his cheeks reddening. _How childish,_ he thought, _after all this time and she can still make me blush like a moron._ She grinned at him, exposing stunning pearlescent teeth. They complimented her pale complexion, which in turn. was perfectly contrast with her red spotted suit. His eyes wandered around her thin figure. The way the spandex suit hugged her waist and other curves of her body left him at a loss for words. She was so beautiful in his eyes. Even if it they had been partners for such a long time, it never seemed to lessen, only grow better with time.

"Hello, kitty, ready to fight an akuma?" He shook his head and focused on maintaining eye contact with her. Careful to not let his eyes wander again. After all, he did know she didn't feel the same way. Her face was determined, and her stance shouted battle ready. He gave her a nod.

"Any ideas where she went?" He questioned, looking to the every ends of the city searching for an answer. He didn't need to wait long before he heard distant cries of terror.

"There's your answer," she chuckled, and hurled her yoyo off into the distance. Chat followed, extending his baton once more and tailing her closely as they leapt across buildings.

"Pound it!" the duo fistbumped in triumph as the cleansed butterfly flew away. Miss Chievous had vanished and was replaced with just a normal teenaged girl. She looked confused, but then again, most of the victims looked like that after a battle, so that was nothing weird.

They had found the akumatised girl wreaking havoc at the Bourgeois hotel, and put an end to things quickly so that nobody ended up with injuries or anything. Marinette hadn't turned up, so naturally all his worry had faded as she had probably retreated to safety.

Ladybug had said her farewells and Chat had quickly made his way back to school and detransformed in another janitor's closet.

"I need cheese, and you'd better give me extra for making me want to puke like that!" Plagg complained as he exited the ring and released Adrien's transformation.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh please, kid, I could sense you checking her out, it was disgusting!" the kwami crossed his tiny arms and looked away from the blonde model, who was turning a seemingly red tinge that he could almost compare with Nathaniel's hair.

"Plagg, hide, I need to go back into the classroom and get something." and with that, the little black cat flew straight into Adrien's jacket pocket, without a second thought.

The model ran as fast as he possibly could back into where they had just been sitting in English less than an hour ago, and he made his way over to Marinette's seat, where her bag still sat abandoned. He carefully picked it up once more and placed it in his school bag which had been sitting beneath his desk. It was time to pay the raven haired girl a visit, no doubt at her bakery where she was probably hiding in safety. So why was he nervous all of a sudden?

The blonde boy stood before Marinette's door once more, for the second time that week, scared to knock on her door. Her parents had let him upstairs to her room after he showed them her bag. They had told him she would appreciate if he gave it to her in person. He has made his way up the stairs, and all of a sudden, butterflies had made a home out of his stomach. He didn't understand this feeling though, because in his mind there was absolutely nothing to be scared or nervous about.

He inhaled a deep breath and then raised a hand to knock on the girl's door. Before he could do so however, the door opened, Marinette standing behind looking rather dazed until she realised who was standing at her door. Her eyes widened and she turned crimson.

"A-Adrien?" She gasped, "W-hat are you doing h-here?"

Why did she look so shocked? He pulled his bag off his shoulders and opened it up to reveal her pink bag. Trying to avoid any awkward silences, he handed it to her with a smile and said,

"I found this and thought you may like it back, considering you always have it with you, you're okay though?" She took it, and then offered him a smile in return.

"Thank you, I guess I must have neglected it when that student attacked the class! How clumsy of me. I'm good, just tired," She chuckled, a hint of nervousness could be heard in her tone.

He looked at her face. It was creamy and lightly toned, in a way it almost reminded him of the red spotted heroine he had been saving Paris with earlier. The closer he looked, the more similarities he noticed between the two, she even had the stunning blue hair to match. Of course she wasn't Ladybug, he knew that for sure. That was when he noticed she too was staring at him, sapphire blue met emerald green and the moment was still. It was as if time had stopped itself. The longer he stared at her facial features, the more beautiful he found them. She was nice and pretty, and at that very moment he had never been happier that she was finally making conversation with him. Her eyes were enticing, and he couldn't help but search into them deeper. He felt as if he was looking into her very soul. He shook his head quickly, snapping pout of the trance.

"I'd better get going, before my father gets too worried about me again, I'll see you at school tomorrow?" He said finally, cutting the silence, and then rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, see you then, Adrien!"

And with that the blonde model waved goodbye and walked out of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. He headed off towards home, which wasn't too far from there, and did so with a huge grin on his face.

Little did the boy know that the reason he didn't sleep that night was because of the shy blue haired girl who sat behind him in class every other day.

Little did he know how much she loved him.

But little did he know that he loved her back.


	6. Chapter 6

Tossing and turning. That's all the model could do all night. He had no idea why he couldn't sleep, or why he felt so sick in the stomach. Perhaps he was coming down with an illness of some kind? He hoped not, especially since his father had just granted him a week off. The last thing he wanted to do during the time was spend it in bed watching anime or whatever he could do to entertain himself. He had asked Plagg if he appeared to look any different, to which the kwami had replied, "you're so oblivious, even to yourself kid," and he had become very confused as to what that statement meant exactly. He had tried to question the tiny black cat's logic, only to be turned away and nagged for more camembert. So instead of sleeping like he should have, Adrien spent the night pondering about the events that had occurred during that day. The thought had crossed his mind that maybe he was falling in love again, because he remembered feeling a lot like this when he did the same for Ladybug. But he couldn't be in love, Ladybug was his only love, right? However, even despite this, he couldn't have expressed in words how worried he had been for the shy girl, after discovering she had disappeared. After he learnt that she must have fled the scene in a hurry, he could recall the sense of relief that swept over him. He was glad she was okay. He was even more so glad that he didn't have to go to school for the entire day. Or study at all for that matter. It might give him a much needed chance to think over things, and at least try to find a solution.

Adrien sighed as he flopped back first onto his comfy mattress, feeling the instant warmth and comfort hugging him from beneath. He couldn't deny the fact that he was sleep deprived as hell, he could feel the bags forming under his eyelids as the minutes grew longer and turned into hours. But no matter how much his droopy eyes taunted him, he couldn't seem to get comfortable enough to finally drift off, and if that wasn't a problem, he was overthinking things way too much, as per usual. Dark raven hair, enticing bluebell eyes. A soft, yet comfortingly warm smile, accompanied by beautiful white teeth that were all perfectly aligned. They matched the pale complexion that went with it. Not to mention the rosy pink cheeks that reflected the happiness she always radiated. She was the most beautiful girl in the world. To him anyway, and nothing on earth could change his opinion. This only reinforced his opinion that she was completely flawless.

He kept imagining the girl in his mind, quietly recalling every feature of her, silently wishing he could sweep her off her feet and pull her into a deep and extremely passionate kiss. Oh, how he wished he could kiss her, confess his undying love for her. She had never seemed so far away, yet never had she been so close.

He sighed once more, "Marinette," he exhaled without thought.

Wait. _Marinette?_

His eyes widened in shock at what he had just said. Did he really just say his classmate's name? Out loud? All images of the red spotted heroine of Paris faded from his mind and was replaced by the shy girl that sat behind him. She too, shared the beautiful warm and comforting smile that he admired on his Lady so much, the hair, her figure even. She was a very pretty person, he couldn't lie to himself, but he was still confused as to why he had said her name subconsciously. He brushed the thoughts away from his head as quickly as they came. There was no way he liked her in that way, his heart belonged to the girl in red, and only her. So how come he couldn't seem to erase thoughts of her out of his already overwhelmed brain? He needed answers, and that was one thing he was certain of. But that would have to wait.

After a long few hours of attempting to become unconscious, Adrien finally slipped into an uneasy sleep that consisted of very few dreams at all.

"You didn't sleep again last night did you?" Nino had asked as soon as they had met up before school. The fact that it was becoming so obvious was definitely not good in the model's eyes. He had woken up after a short two hours, feeling not very well rested at all. He wished that whatever his body was doing, it would hurry up so he could start living his daytime life normally once more. He was still confused as to why he kept thinking about Marinette so frequently, and he figured that if he was going to lose anymore sleep tonight, it was going to be because of this. He just wanted to sleep. The very thought made him drowsy. Just looking at his best friend, he felt his eyes getting sore, and his lids growing heavier by the minute. But he couldn't sleep, he already had enough work to catch up on, without extra unnecessary pressure added on top of that.

"How could you tell?" He replied with extreme ridicule, even if he didn't sound it. Nino placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort and gave him a very heartfelt look.

"If something's bothering you, dude, I am always here to help you out," he offered with a small smile tugging at his lips, obviously ignoring the model's comment. "Is it the nightmares?"

Adrien shook his head. He wished it was the nightmares, because that would mean he'd actually be getting some sleep at least. Not much, but more than he was currently getting, that was for sure. He watched as Nino's smile turned into a sad looking frown.

"What is it then, Adrien? I can't help if you don't tell me!"

The blonde boy looked at his friend with sincerity in his eyes, he was really appreciative that he wanted to help him out. But he didn't really think that the DJ would fully understand his situation. He glanced around for the girls, but realised that they weren't sitting with them like they usually did, instead with the other girls in their class across the courtyard. He watched as the blue haired girl giggled at something Alya and Alix were talking to her about. He felt a grin spread over his face.

"I think I get it now," his best friend said as he trailed to where Adrien's eyes were focused.

Well there was no use hiding it now. Plus the girls weren't here so it was the perfect opportunity. Mari had helped him before, but he felt like he couldn't come to her about this particular predicament. Especially since it kind of involved her in the first place.

"Hypothetically, say I was in love with somebody and I had promised to myself I would love them forever. Say that she was probably the most perfect girl on the planet, everything about her absolutely flawless, literally incomparable to anybody else . Let's just say she doesn't feel the same way. No matter how hard I try, she won't even acknowledge my feelings for her. But then, hypothetically, what if I started thinking about another girl? Does that mean I like her or what?" Adrien didn't take his eyes of the girl across the space once, causing suspicion to arouse in the DJ that was sitting quietly beside him with a smirk planted on his face.

"Adrien Agreste, famous teenage model, son of a famous fashion designer, is having girl troubles?" He mocked. This stifled a laugh, to which Adrien glared at him for.

"Shut up, are you gonna help me out or just sit there laughing at me?" he snapped, crossing his arms over his chest and feeling a sudden sense of annoyance which filled him to the brim. This could either go really well or really bad.

"Sorry, man, but this is just priceless, I never imagined you coming to me for girl advice, especially since you're you," he finished, gesturing to Adrien's entire body. The model rolled his eyes so hard, if he had gone any further backwards, he probably would have seen the back of his head. If he was honest, it kind of hurt, but he had no regret.

"I need answers, I'd like to sleep sometime in the near future. Pretty sure you wouldn't want to see me drop dead of exhaustion, that's not how I want to leave this world."

Nino was in hysterics, the blonde boy didn't think he'd ever seen his friend laugh so much before. He was sarcastically glad that his love life was so amusing for somebody at least. He went quiet, awaiting the DJ to shut up, however, Nino didn't drop things easily, so he guessed he'd probably be hearing about this for the next month at the very least. So while he waited, he decided to let his eyes wander back to where they had been occupied previously. She was still smiling, she seemed happy surrounded by all of her friends, and in turn, that made him feel a sense of warmth rush through him. But he couldn't like her could he?

Snapping out of it as soon as Nino began to talk once more, he paid very close attention. He was almost certain he shouldn't have asked him first for advice, but what the hell? He was desperate to sleep. (Which made him think his kwami was probably having a bad influence on him)

"So 'hypothetically', you like a girl, and now you might like another?" The DJ clarified, raising an eyebrow in anticipation, and adding a very not so subtle emphasis on the second word.

"I don't like her, Marinette's just a friend, Nino," Adrien stated bluntly, but then tensed realizing his mistake. He had mentioned names. Oops.

"I KNEW IT!" He exclaimed rather excitedly, "You so do, I see the way you've been looking at her, even your body language has changed around her. Dude, you're as subtle as a flying brick!"

He was enjoying this way more than he should have been. Adrien almost regretted saying anything at all. "I don't think I like her, that's the problem, I love the other girl, Nino, I can't like her..."

Nino rested a reassuring arm around his shoulder and looked him directly in the eyes.

"Just because you like the other girl, doesn't mean you can't like more than one. Besides nobody looks at their friend with a lovesick smile like that, you're kidding yourself, bro,"

He thought about this for a moment, his friend did have a point, it was possible to like more than one person at a time. But did he really like Mari or was it just because they had been making progress in their friendship lately? And he was pretty sure it was just an appreciative smile, he only lovesick smiled at Ladybug, and there was no shame in admitting that to himself.

"Whatever, dude, I'm heading off to Physics, I'll catch you later. Thanks for trying." Adrien waved his friend goodbye and they shared a brief fistbump before he walked off towards the science block as the bell rang loudly. He appreciated the help that Nino was rying to give him, but he felt like some of it wasn't very helpful at all, and that he'd probably have to figure it out by himself. That didn't necessarily bother him, however, because he had done things alone most of his life, especially after his mother had vanished. It just meant that he'd be confused as to what to do. It always worked out though, and he was trying to be optimistic.

All optimism and hope faded as soon as he took his usual seat. he had completely neglected the fact that Marinette sat next to him during this class. What was he going to do? He didn't know how he was going to face her, let alone talk to her. He was probably going to end up conversing with her like she did with him, stuttering and awkward as hell. He took a deep breath in to calm his annoying sickening nerves and knotted stomach. She was just a friend though, right? So all this jittering was for nothing, why was he so worried? Pushing these thoughts as far out of his mind as he possibly could, he tried to keep a neutral looking face and a composed looking figure so he didn't look stressed or get asked questions.

Well he tried anyway. As soon as he saw the familiar dark blue pigtails enter the classroom, he knew he would die. Inhaling deeply, he kept trying to kill the butterflies that were fluttering about in his body. _Come on_ , he thought, _focus, it's just Mari!_

He avoided glancing in her particular direction, sensing as her quiet footsteps approached their seat and sat down beside him in her usual spot, trying desperately not to turn a deep shade of crimson. Unlike her, he could tell she was bright as a tomato out of the corner of his eye, without even looking at her.

"Okay class, let's begin today's lesson," Mme. Bustier announced once everyone in the room had all found somewhere to sit. In Adrien's opinion, it was going to be an extremely long lesson.

After attempting to keep his focus on the board and the teacher for the majority of the lesson, he still couldn't help but take small looks at the petite figure beside him. It was extremely difficult for him, however, because he couldn't help but notice the small pair of blue sapphire eyes watching his every move. Damnit, did that mean she could notice something was off about him? So much for the calm and collected composure he was trying to give off. She was obviously too observant for her own good. And if not a moment later, he found his thoughts interrupted.

"Adrien, are you alright?" the girl next to him whispered when the teacher had her back turned to the front of the room, scribbling notes for everyone to copy. The nerves kicked him in the gut even harder. This was terrible.

"Y-yeah, thanks, I'm just tired and feeling a little unwell," he lied, although it wasn't entirely untruthful. He certainly was tired, and sick, maybe not for the same reasons, or maybe so, he couldn't really tell if they were interconnected. And now he was overthinking things again.

He found that he couldn't help himself, turning his head to face Marinette. There was a sense of doubt evident in her eyes, skepticism even, as if she didn't quite believe him. But even if this was the case, she didn't mention it, and he thanked her for that because he felt terrible about lying to his friends. However, even so, this was a subject he wouldn't be able to bring up around her.

Moving his attention back to his books, he continued to copy notes down hastily so he didn't fall behind anymore than he already was. This was turning into a very long lesson indeed.

"Alright, now class, as I mentioned a few weeks back, we're starting the collaboration projects as of tomorrow. I have preselected your groups so nobody is left out." Mme. Bustier announced, pulling out the list of names from her desk. Adrien sat there hoping to death he wouldn't get put with Chloe again, he couldn't deal with her clinginess.

"Ivan, you're with Max. Sabrina, your partner is Chloe," She furrowed her brows as she inspected the piece of paper even closer.

Well at least he wasn't with the blonde girl, that was a plus. So he didn't really care who he was partnered with now, literally anybody else was fine. He found his shoulders relax a little as some of the tension disappeared. There were a few more names mentioned before the teacher read out the final group. His ears perked up as he heard his name being called.

"Adrien, you will be working with Marinette. See you all later, class dismissed!"

 _Well shit_ , the blonde model thought, turning to face Mari, and offered her what he hoped to be a friendly smile.

When he told himself anybody else was fine, he had completely forgotten about this possibility...

A/N- Now I know this chapter isn't cute and fluffy, but this is because when relationships first start to bloom, they are extremely awkward. Trying to make it realistic haha. Would appreciate any feedback or criticism, because it helps me to become better at writing and helps you enjoy my story more. See you all next time. :)


	7. Chapter 7

****A/N- I realised I skipped a chapter. Oops, won't affect storyline at all, will just make me look like an idiot XD Enjoy this update, we're almost on the home straight with this story, about 3/4 through currently. Which means there will probably be another four or five at most. Sorry it's taken longer than I anticipated, that's because I've been working on other miraculous fanfictions which may possibly turn out better than this one, and of course the OC one which I haven't updated in months. sorry about the rant :P****

After what had seemed to be the longest, sickeningly painful and perhaps even, most awkward day at school, Adrien had returned home with nothing but his kwami's mockery to listen to as he paced back and forward in his room. Granted, sometimes this mockery was well deserved, as in some instances, he made stupid mistakes and was probably oblivious to the obvious. But this was getting annoying. Everybody seemed to be laughing at him at the moment, but why? He couldn't put his finger on it. Was he missing the bigger picture here?

Feeling a distinct movement in the pocket of his jacket, he opened it up to let Plagg out. The tiny cat zoomed into the air just in front of the model, where he was giggling uncontrollably.

"Ah, man! You're priceless kid! I can't believe it!" He managed between gasping breaths, "You acted just like her! You can't deny yourself now, you two were made for each other,"

Great, so his kwami had the exact same opinion as Nino, how much better could his life get? Just because he felt a little more awkward around her than usual, didn't mean they should date. Besides he was pretty sure he didn't like her in that way, his heart belonged to Ladybug, always and forever. Marinette didn't even talk to him on a regular basis, so she probably despised him deep down anyway, and this made him think there was absolutely no point in the first place.

"Whatever, I'm going for a shower," he interjected, ignoring the laughter that didn't seem to be fading. Grabbing his towel from his wardrobe, he slowly made his way to the on suite bathroom that was situated beside his arcade games.

"Sure, sure, probably to think about things carefully. Or rather someone, am I right?" The suggestive tone in his tone made Adrien flush in the face. Did his kwami really just say that?

"Plagg! Yes I am, but not in the way you're thinking!" huffing, he slammed the door shut behind him. That little troublemaker wasn't getting any cheese tonight for that comment.

He stepped into the shower, his toes flinching at the sudden cool of the ceramic tiles beneath them as he slowly adapted his exposed feet to the ground. He turned the tap slowly and jumped at the freezing water that poured down the front of his body, engulfing him in chills as he awaited the temperature to rise.

He sighed deeply before relaxing his arms at his sides, allowing the warmth of the water cascade down his front as he closed his eyes, mind in shreds. What was he going to do?

Ladybug was the picture of perfection, an angel sent to him from heaven. And Marinette was sweet, caring, brave, confident and he would dare say even beautiful. But if he truly did like both of them, he knew that fawning over them and trying to decide which one to go with was going to only cause him more pain and trouble. Which made him feel sick in the gut because he also knew that the decision was going to be extremely difficult for him. His Lady had never reciprocated his feelings, and he figured she never would, which made the decision seemingly easy, only he was deadset on the fact that Mari despised him, all the evidence was there after all. She avoided him, could barely utter a word to him and he felt as if she glared at him a lot. All because he tried to take the gum off of her chair when they had first met. A simple misunderstanding that had obviously cost him what could have been a very amazing friendship, and potentially even more. Even though he considered them friends, he was sure Mari didn't feel the same way at all. Despite this fact, he was glad she had stopped stuttering around him of late, maybe he could keep making progress with her.

He wished he could get actual help from somebody, but whoever he seemed to ask, did either one of two things, laugh or mock him. Again, was he missing he bigger picture here? Plagg and Nino had both been the same. Alya wasn't somebody he wanted to go to for girl advice as she would probably get a little nosy. And he definitely couldn't ask Marinette because the issue was about her. This left him with only one choice. He was going to have to ask his best friend, since his kwami seemed all too amused, and he didn't want to add to this matter.

He could feel the steam of the water fogging up the air around him, and it was so warm in the room he almost felt like he was being hugged.

It was comforting as he knew this was probably the only hug he'd ever receive from anybody, as his father was as cold and unloving as a huge block of stone. He had to admit the week off was pretty awesome however, probably he nicest thing he'd done for his son in years.

Turning the taps off, he stood there still as a statue, feeling himself unable to move as the remaining streams of water trickled down his back and into the drain on the ground. If he wasn't riddled with emotions and completely overthinking everything, he might have been shivering from the cold by now.

There was only one thing left to do. He had no choice. He would have to consult Nino.

"Hey Adrien, it's getting pretty late dude, is it important?" his best friends voice had answered his phone almost instantly, for that he was grateful for. If it hadn't he was almost sure he would have backed out and just left the matter altogether.

"I had more questions about the conversation we had at school, if that's okay?" Adrien swallowed the nerves that kept climbing out of his gut and into his throat.

"Of course, how can the all-knowing-Nino be of assistance?"

There was a slight pause. Adrien thought about everything he had already pondered over the past few days and made his decision.

"Okay, so I'm pretty sure I like Marinette, I mean all the signs are there," he blurted, feeling his cheeks redden. Why was this so hard for him to say, Nino was his best friend after all.

"Finally! Only took you what? A year or so? Alya is going to be so happy!" the sincerity and relief that the blonde boy detected in his friends tone was slightly comforting, yet it kind of confused him. One, why finally? And two, why was Alya going to be so happy?

He watched from a distance as Plagg chuckled and then devoured a whole wedge of camembert. Great, next time he went on patrol he was going to smell like stinky cheese.

"What do you mean finally? Everybody has been saying stuff like that lately and it's really confusing me. The laughter especially? Am I missing something here?" Adrien was honestly over the giggles and mixed messages that everyone kept giving him. Nino obviously knew the answer because he kept doing it himself.

"Wait you mean, you actually don't know?" He heard his friend question over the line. "Alright what did you want to ask me exactly, dude?"

The boy took a deep breath. "What am I supposed to do? Even if I could somehow establish a relationship with her, she hate's m-"

"Okay lemme stop you right there. Marinette doesn't hate you, in fact quite the opposite, my friend,"

There it was. The confusion. It hit him like a brick to the head. Hard and without warning.

"What do you mean? She can never talk to me, she avoids me a lot, I seem to make her uncomfortable," Adrien frowned, and was tempted to tell his friend that he just wanted to be alone right now, but as if on cue, he interrupted the train of thought.

"She can't talk to you because she's nervous around you, man. She avoids you because she doesn't want to mess up in front of you and she seems uncomfortable around you because she is shy around YOU in particular..."

There was a brief moment of silence.

"What are you trying to say, Nino?" Adrien finally said, unsure he had heard his friend correctly.

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?" the model could hear the face palm. "Adrien Agreste, I'm disappointed in you, I thought you of all people were smart enough to realise when a girl had a huge crush on you,"

His mouth fell open, like his eyes, wide and full of surprise. He could feel his skin fading to a chalky white colour as all the blood drained from his face.

"W-what? Since when?" he stammered, nerves taking control. Was it really true?

"Since forever dude, I can't believe you're so oblivious. Anyway, are we done here? I gotta pick Alya up in ten minutes for our date," his best friend began to wrap things up.

"Sure, see you tomorrow, Nino," Adrien said goodbye and then hung up, and wandered over to his window, glancing out around the city that surrounded him, watching as the sun slowly began to set beneath the horizon. No only was he more nauseous than he had ever been before in his life, but he also felt a lot more enlightened. That one small phone call had changed everything. It was as if all the confusion the past week or so had caused now finally made sense. As much as he tried to deny it, he couldn't anymore. There was absolutely no doubt anymore if there had been any left. He liked Marinette, a lot. He had very obvious feelings for her, almost as strong as the ones he had for Ladybug. And although he felt this was about his shy classmate, he would still never truly forget his first love. Deep down he would always feel affection for the girl in the spotted suit, but perhaps it was time to move on. And at least he could do so now knowing that she actually returned his feelings.

He shook the thoughts from his mind, now was not the time.

There were still things he needed to sort out before he could say he would be able to relax completely. But it was getting late, and he was definitely tired, after all, sleep deprivation tends to do that to people. So he tried his best to clear his mind and push the nerves back down before he curled up underneath his covers and, for the first time in weeks, fell fast asleep almost instantly.

A few days later

"So, Marinette, which task did you want to do for our assignment?" Scratching the nape of his neck with his left hand, he tried his best to break the awkward silence without looking too desperate or pushy. They had agreed to meet up at her place after school to begin their project. He watched intently as the shy girl next to him flipped quickly through her notes, searching for something important. The look of sheer concentration on her face as she did so was making Adrien's heartbeat rise rapidly. Damnit. Why did she have to be so cute?

"Well considering you've been distracted half of this term because of your sleeping difficulties, I would personally suggest we go for the easier choice of the three," She stated, not looking up as she continuously turned the pages of her notebook. Holding it up in front of her, she smiled. He scanned over the page looking for the title. Her handwriting was cursive and very visually appealing for him, just like her. He grinned.

"Gravity?" He asked to make sure. She nodded quietly and turned to her computer screen where she opened a new internet tab.

"Yeah. So all we gotta do is write a short essay on it. Should be fairly easy, since you're... uh... experienced and all" he knew she was talking about his homeschooling life. Fair enough because before his public schooling days, Nathalie taught him advanced subjects such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics and even English. His father believed this would open up more opportunities for him in the future, even though he practically controlled his son's life.

He chuckled and picked up her book, reading through her notes. They were short and concise, yet meaningful, and he found that they made perfect sense to him. This was a good thing, it meant that she would be a good partner to work with as she obviously knew exactly what she was doing. And it would be a good chance to get to know her as well.

Previously that morning when he had arrived at school, he had been constantly harassed by Nino, and threatened by Alya about Marinette.

 _"So dude, when are you going to ask her out?"_ his best friend had inquired multiple times, to which his response had either been a shrug or the reddening of his cheeks.

However it was a topic he had been pondering about ever since he found out that she liked him.

 _"You'd better ask her out, because I swear to god if you don't I'm going to pummel you..."_ the blogger had jokingly warned him. Even if he didn't entirely believe the threat, he was still going to be wary, as he would by lying if he said he wasn't low key scared of her. Or at least getting on her bad side.

 _"Soon,"_ Adrien's only reply to both of his friends, left them in suspense.

If he was more than honest with himself, despite the fact he was no longer trying to deny his obvious feelings for Mari, he had never really considered asking her out until his friends started pressuring him about his decisions. When he thought long and hard about it, it did sound really appealing. She was everything and more than Ladybug was, even if she didn't let on that way at first glance. What he couldn't believe was the fact that all the stuttering and awkward encounters was because she had a mad crush on him. He gave a dorky smile at the thought.

But then he looked at the clock and gasped at the time. If he wasn't home soon, he was going to be in huge trouble. But then he remembered what he was going to do that afternoon, and suddenly he butterflies inside his gut awoke and brought on the nausea. He was going to do it. It was now or never.

The girl must have noticed something was up with him, because she looked at him with worry and concern in her eyes.

"You alright Adrien?" she questioned, turning away from the computer screen.

This was it. The moment of truth. The nerves pricked at his skin, and he felt goosebumps press at the surface of his skin all over his body.

"I've been meaning to say something to you," he managed barely, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"Of course, what's on your mind?"

Here goes nothing...

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng... you're talented, kind, confident, smart and, above all one of the most beautiful girls on this planet. You're perfect, and any guy on this earth would be lucky to have you as their own." He looked deep into her confused eyes.

Silence crept across the room after he had finished. The room was still, only two teenagers gazing into each others eyes.

"A-Adrien I..." he stopped her mid sentence. If he didn't do it now, it wasn't going to happen...

"Will make me that lucky guy and be my girlfriend?"


	8. Chapter 8

The question lingered on the tip of his tongue. Had he really said what he just did? Too late now, the cat was out of the bag (Wink wink). He stared at her in anticipation for an answer, to which she only gave him silence which quickly settled over them, thicker than the uneasy tension in the atmosphere. In fact, if awkwardness was a physical object or being, he was almost sure it was strong enough right now, he'd be able to taste it. He watched as her unsettling eyes glanced around the room, avoiding his own. She liked him, right? So what was taking her so long to make a decision. He didn't want to pressure the girl, because he had kind of asked her out of the blue, but he was becoming even more nervous now as a result of this. He shook his head and then frowned.

"I'm sorry for putting you on the spot, you don't have to answer, just forget I said anythi-"

She outstretched her pale arm and placed her index finger over his mouth to make him quiet. As if all the anxiety she had displayed only seconds before had disappeared, a glint of boldness flashed in her eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes.

"Yes, I will..." She whispered. Offering him a small smile as she approached him slowly. He wasn't sure if she was teasing him by subtly swiveling her hips like she did, or if he just had a burning desire to pull her into his embrace and kiss her senseless. But of course he would restrain himself because he didn't want to come off too strong. He couldn't believe what had just occurred even though he knew she liked him. Maybe things were finally taking a turn in his favour for once.

Before he could process any more information, he felt a pair of small arms wrap around his torso and hug him. The genuine sense of warmth and love radiated all around his overwhelmed body. Gently repositioning himself, he smiled as he returned the display of affection and pulled her in even closer. His face was pressed up against her hair, which smelt like a mixture of bakery foods and strawberry shampoo, both of which were heavenly to his nose.

Reluctantly, after a few quiet moments they shared, he pulled away so they could enjoy the feeling of personal space once more. Gazing deep into her beautiful sapphire eyes, he felt the lovesick smile as it crept across his face when she returned the look. Her rosy pink cheeks rapidly became flustered, probably all the bold moves catching up with her. It was adorable, just like the way her pale skin contrasted nicely with her raven hair. Which in his opinion, reminded him of somebody, but he couldn't think of who.

What was he supposed to do now? He hadn't planned to ever really get this far in the first place. What should he say to her?

"Can I ask you something?" Marinette finally asked, breaking the growing tension.

"Anything," he replied, making himself comfortable on her desk chair. He rested his elbow on the bench, and then his head in his hand awaiting the girl's question.

"I know for a fact that the girl you mentioned a few weeks back that you were madly in love with wasn't me. In fact, I'm surprised you moved on as fast as you did, and with me of all people. If it's okay, could I ask who the girl was?" she managed, obviously very uncomfortable.

Intrigued by her inquiry, he raised his eyebrows, but then proceeded to chuckle in amusement.

"Mari, curiosity killed the cat," he stated, inwardly praising himself for the pun he had just made, even though he knew she wouldn't understand.

"Yes, but satisfaction brought it back, so can I have an answer?" she retorted poking her tongue out. Well two could play at that game.

"That's two questions..." he joked, poking his tongue out in response to her doing the same.

"You know for somebody who seems like a polite model most of the time, you sure have an attitude on you," Marinette giggled, it was probably the cutest thing he'd seen all day.

Amongst a smile, Adrien's fingers found themselves playing around with the pen that lay discarded on the paper of their project. He picked it up and examined it carefully. So much for their study session. If he had to choose between this and studying, however, he wouldn't even consider studying in the slightest.

"So are you gonna answer my question?" She pressed on further, and snapped him back to reality.

"She is a close friend of mine, we've known each other for a while now. But why should it matter? She's not the one I'm interested in anymore..." he placed the pen in his mouth and chewed on it softly, shooting her a wink. Amidst his attempts at flirting, somewhere along the way, he once again became quite lost in the deep azure ocean that were her eyes. The way they stared back into his own left him mesmermised, left in a trance. The slight blush evident on her delicate face making his own heart flutter in a way he thought wasn't possible. There was no doubt about it, she was most definitely the most beautiful person on the planet. Her complexion, her hair, her lithe figure, everything about her from her tiny freckles on her face to the way she wore her hair was perfect to him right at that moment. He wanted to pull her into his embrace, wrap his arms tightly around her, and then never let her go so they could be together forever. The pen in his mouth dropped out onto the floor.

Faces inching ever so closely together, as if a magnet was using force to draw them in, Adrien could feel himself closing his eyes as she leaned in closer. He felt like a livewire, energy surging through him. He could feel her breath on his lips, and right before he closed the distance between them, he stopped. This wasn't right.

He pulled away quickly.

"How about I pick you up here tomorrow at 6?" He suggested, quickly, trying to avoid any oncoming awkwardness he may have just caused.

Mari looked confused as to what had just occurred, but she gave a small nod nevertheless.

So without further adue, the blonde model stood and gathered his school supplies, saying his farewells to both his new girlfriend and her unknowing parents.

He had to get going before patrol started in an hour, or he'd be late and then Ladybug would scold him. Something he had never personally experienced, and never wanted to for that matter.

He needed to talk to her though. If he was to feel completely comfortable in his new relationship with Marinette, he would have to at least mention it to the spotted superheroine, as an act of basic human decency. After all, he had confessed to her, and he had been flirting with her for a very long time. How would she react if he suddenly just stopped? Relieved proabably, but that wasn't the point. Whatever the case, he only had to wait another hour or so and then it would all be over.

Patrol of late had been tedious to say at the least, uneventful most certainly. Regardless, the duo had stuck to their weekly routine of patrolling around the streets of Paris to protect the citizens from any akuma attacks or petty thieves that threatened the peace. Which meant that once a week, both of the heroes gave up two hours of their lives for almost no purpose at all. It was safe to say that these nights were beginning to grow dull.

Ladybug had been giving him strange looks all evening as they swung, leapt and ran their way across buildings and streets alike. It was almost as if something was off. She wasn't herself.

They reached the checkpoint in their route where they usually took a break if nothing was happening. There was definitely nothing happening, so they both sat down and sighed as they looked over the glowing buildings surrounding them from every angle. Where they were situated also gave room for an extremely nice view of the Eiffel Tower, illuminated like the night sky in all of it's beautiful glory, which could never grow old no matter how many times he saw it, unlike the rest of Paris. It was almost hard to believe that this city suffered from supervillian attacks so frequently. For sure, if he wasn't one of the people who prevented these people from rising into power, he'd almost think this city was completely normal. The majority of the cityscape was completely urban, apart from the occasional park here and there, and the trees used to decorate the streets. Every pathway was layered in concrete, from here to the other end of Paris, in the same artistic grid pattern on the sidewalks. He had once thought this to be a defining feature of the city too, until he became a hero and had to see it all the time when he was patrolling and fighting villains. Needless to say, it was obvious that the area around them was absolutely stunning in almost every way, but he was finding it hard to see it that way.

"Chat! Hello? Are you even listening to me?" he was snapped out of his trance by a red spotted hand waving in front of his face. He looked up to the heroine and smiled.

"Sorry, deep in thought," he offered. She frowned and then groaned.

"I asked you a question, stupid cat!" she huffed.

There seemed to be a lot of question-asking of late.

"Could you repeat it then?" he asked softly, ignoring her growing frustration.

She crossed her arms, took a deep breath and then looked him deep in the eyes. Her bluebell eyes. They looked so familiar for some reason.

"I asked if you were okay? You haven't been yourself all night..."

He felt the familiar emotion known as confusion fill up his mind.

"What do you mean?" he questioned. If anything, it was she who hadn't been herself for the entirety of the evening. He'd never gotten so many questionable looks from her almost one after the other. Yet he kept his mouth shut about this, if something was up with her, he didn't want to make matters worse.

She face palmed and then sighed.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this... I know there's something up with you because you haven't made a single pun, or lame attempt at flirting with me. It's not like you at all. So please enlighten me, Chat Noir..." her voice was loud and clear, she meant business. And if he was honest, he didn't know whether he was scared or appreciative of the fact she seemed to be taking such an interest.

"I'm sorry Ladybug, there's just been a lot going on lately," he sighed.

"I hope you're not referring to akumas in any way, because then I'd have to deem you a liar," she mused in reply.

He shared a laugh with her. It was true that there had been a very obvious change in the amount of akuma attacks they were having. It had gone from twice a week, to suddenly none at all. Maybe Hawkmoth had finally given up and accepted defeat.

"Not at all, it's my personal life..." he paused "In fact there's something I've been meaning to ask you..."

"Of course, fire away," her tone of voice had changed from concerned to somewhat reassuring.

He tensed up, he'd never been good at talking emotions.

"You and I both know it's been no secret since the day we met. You grabbed a piece of my heart and even if you didn't know it, you refused to give it back. I loved you..." he managed, looking down at his feet, before he shifted his gaze upwards to her face. She frowned. "And although I told myself that I would love you forever, about a week ago I began to find myself pretty conflicted. In the end, I realised that pursuing this other girl I know was what I really wanted, since I knew a relationship with you would never work out."

Her eyes widened with sympathy and she offered him a comforting arm around the shoulder as she sat down beside him.

"I'm sorry, but we have to remain strictly business for the safety of those around us, it's just more beneficial that we don't know each other in our personal lives is all," her hand was gently rubbing his back. If this moment had been a week ago, her slightest touch would have driven him wild with infatuation. But that was a week ago.

"Exactly my point, but I feel guilty. I feel like I've betrayed you in a sense even though we aren't together."

"Can you get to the your point then possibly?" the sass was real.

"You'll always be my first love, you'll always be a part of me. I guess in order to feel like my relationship with this girl will be right, I must ask for your permission..." any form of a confident smile on her face faded, and all he could see was sympathy and a sense of disbelief.

She shook her head with a slight giggle, which sounded vaguely familiar.

"You don't need my permission silly kitty, if you want to date this girl, do what your heart desires. Besides, I recently got asked out myself, so it would be wrong of me to say you couldn't."

Chat was filled to the brim with happiness, he wrapped his arms around her tightly and had the most childish grin sprawled on his masked face.

"Thank you Ladybug!" he exclaimed with joy.

"Careful now, I have a boyfriend..." she teased, and he immediately pulled his arms away and returned them to his sides.

"Whoever he is, he is very lucky to have you," offering her a friendly smile, he stood up as he checked the time on his baton.

"You too, Chat, I hope all works out for you. Time to go I guess. But before we do, I was thinking maybe next patrol we should bring our phones just in case nothing happens again, you know, so we don't sit around bored senseless for two hours?"

The blonde boy was more than okay with anything right now, and that was because his mind was clear and he knew exactly what he wanted. He gave her a nod and then extended his baton giving her a two finger salute as a farewell. Bounding and leaping across the tops of the city infrastructure, he headed off toward his mansion.

After giving his demanding kwami camembert to sate his appetite, the model took a brief shower before he flopped onto his bed with the biggest smile visible on his face. He was pretty sure Plagg knew better than to ask anymore, not that he cared particularly. Things were certainly turning out in his favour of late, he was almost in disbelief that the events in which had occurred the past few days actually happened. His notorious bad luck seemed nowhere to be found, and he definitely wasn't complaining that was for sure. If anything, he was relieved, of many things, but two in particular. He'd finally gotten over Ladybug and taken her off the pedestal he seemed to have placed her on, and then moved on to where his efforts would be appreciated. The second was he had finally found somebody who would value him for who he was, who would always be there for him, and help him through the tough times that seemed to shroud him quite frequently. Mari was perfect, and he was glad he had finally seen it. Which reminded him of their date tomorrow night after school, he felt the excitement rush through him just at the thought.

He was finally going to learn more about the shy girl who sat behind him during his classes...


	9. Chapter 9

****A/N- HEY EVERYONE! I apologise immensely for not updating sooner, I have been preoccupied with school work and if I'm absolutely honest, I had no idea how to write these last few chapters. It's taken a while but it's here finally! I would just like to take the time to thank all of you amazing readers! Without you this wouldn't have been possible. All of your support and kind words has been my motivation. Also deliberately made it a teeny bit longer just because you all had to wait so long. It's all starting to come together now... *evil laughs* Enjoy your potentially second last chapter.****

As the sun crept above the horizon and lit up the sky, the bright orange glow it radiated reached all over the city of Paris. Warming rays shone through windows and glass in every building and awoke those who were still unconscious from their peaceful slumbers. As Parisians opened the curtains to start their day fresh and early, the bright blue sky with not a cloud to be seen welcomed them to believe that the day was going to be beautiful. Indeed it was...

Adrien's alarm sounded loudly, alerting him that it was time to get ready for school for the day. And then of course, his long awaited date that night. Even if he had to wait only a day, it like such a long time for him. Of course he would have to survive the harshness of school before that could happen, but he was sure that with Mari and his friends by his side, everything would be absolutely fine, after all it was certainly shaping up to be a perfect day.

He bounced out of bed and made his way over to his wardrobe where he dressed in his usual clothing, and then made his way downstairs for breakfast. His father wasn't around of course, busy working on the next big fashion line he was about to release probably. So the blonde model sat at the huge table all by himself as he indulged on various types of pastries. He probably had an addiction to croissants or something, but luckily his girlfriend's parents owned a bakery that could help with that.

He glanced at the clock on the wall of the dining room, and it read only 7. He was ready for school, yet still had another hour and a half before he had to actually be there. So he decided he was going to walk to Marinette's bakery. Maybe they could even walk into school together as an official couple.

Practically jumping with joy all the way there, the blonde boy hurried as fast as his legs would carry him so he could reach the bakery with enough time to spare. As he was speed walking, he noticed the many birds flapping around in the trees, chirping happily along with each other as they sang their tunes of delight. He smiled, it was turning out to be a beautiful day indeed, and he hadn't even seen Marinette yet. In fact, just the thought of her made his heart rate rise rapidly. He couldn't wait until he could walk with her into the school gates, and announce to their friends about their newfound relationship. More importantly, and above all, he was elated that he would be able to spend the evening with her, and her alone. He would finally be able to get to know her more, not just as a friend, but as a lover.

Just ahead, he saw the familiar sign of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, dangling out front of the building. His eyes caught sight of a few tables outside, and so instead of intruding, and like the gentleman he was, he waited outside for her, and whilst doing so, relished in the glistening rays of the sun the morning had provided. He took a deep breath in to fully appreciate the mixed scents that were all around him, the most prominent one being freshly baked bread from inside Marinette's parents bakery. But his sense of smell had been enhanced thanks to Plagg, so he could also smell things like the feint foul smelling odours of cigarettes and burning petrol from the cars passing by.

"Well you look happy," a familiar voice mused as the tingling of the door opening behind him. He stood and watched as Marinette walked towards his table and gave him the prettiest smile he had ever seen. His eyes wandered up and down her figure. She wore the same clothes she always did, the long pink jeans and the white floral shirt completed with her grey blazer and her purse. He shifted his glance back into her ocean-like eyes.

"Good morning," he chuckled in response. "Shall we?" He offered her his hand, and for a brief moment she stared at it as if she had no idea what it was. Until her eyes lit up, and then she took his hand and entwined it with hers. She also wondered how everyone at school would react when they saw them walking through the doors. Only one way to find out.

He began to walk in the direction of their destination, and she followed alongside him. They travelled in a comfortable silence, speaking only when an occasional question was asked.

Needless to say, their day at school had been very quick. Not only did they share most of their subjects, but everybody in their year had been asking about the details of their relationship all day long.

 _"How long have you two been together?"_ Rose had asked practically bouncing around them.

 _"You both make a very agreeable match,"_ Max had stated, and then blabbered on about some kind of maths problem he was stuck on for homework with Sabrina.

And of course there was Nino and Alya who were ecstatic that Adrien had actually lived up to his word. There had been several high fives between Mari and her best friend, which amused Nino immensely, but only confused the model.

The only person who had disapproved of them being together was Chloe, which was not a surprise for anybody, as it was no secret she liked Adrien at all. But even her actions weren't enough to spoil their day.

After the final bell for the day had rung, Adrien had rushed home to get changed for his night out with his new lady.

Never once in his life had he ever thought he'd have trouble picking out what to wear though. Usually he wore one of two things, but since this was a really special occasion, he figured he should make an effort. However, he also didn't want it to be too formal at the same time. He knew Mari wouldn't care, but he wanted this date to be memorable for her. He wanted it to mean something. He and her had mutually agreed on a picnic in one of the parks near the Eiffel tower, so they could have dinner and watch the city light up as the sun faded away and also watch as the sky descended into darkness. He hoped that it would be enough. He hoped she would enjoy herself as much as he knew he was going to.

No later than ten minutes later, he stood in front of his mirror after deciding on an outfit. Figuring it would be best if he kept it simple, he ended up going with a pair of jeans, darker than what he normally wore. They were a nice charcoal shade, something he didn't really wear often because he didn't really own anything in that sort of colour range. Adrien had thrown on one of his grey shirts because he figured it wasn't going to matter when it got cold later that night. So he completed the look with an old black hoodie, he found at the back of his walk in closet. He was almost a hundred percent sure he hadn't worn it before.

Standing outside the Dupain-Cheng bakery for the second time that day, the blonde model found himself about to internally combust from a fit of nerves. He shouldn't have been worried at all. He knew everything would be fine. But it felt like everytime he thought about her, his heart leapt into his throat, he started sweating uncontrollably and also for some reason he found it slightly hard to breath normally.

He pushed open the door as he took one last deep breath. It was now or never. The bell sounded lightly in his ear as he proceeded towards the counter where a small Chinese woman stood, her back to him as she took some treats out of the oven. The familiar smell of freshly baked pastry wandered to his nose, and because of his heightened sense of smell, he found himself restraining from creating a puddle of drool. The woman turned as the sound of the bell echoed through the room, an instant smile crept on her face.

"Adrien! Welcome! Mari has been so excited for tonight! She'll be down in a few minutes." Mrs Cheng held out a tray full of macaroons. "Would you care to try one?"

Adrien nodded and thanked her politely before taking a brown one and eating it. _Mmmm_ he thought, _chocolate_...

Before he could thank her, there was the sound of a door opening from behind the counter, and a tall, broad shouldered man walked through carrying several bags of flour. He stopped when he noticed the blonde boy in the dining area.

"Ah! Adrien, my boy!" Dropping the flour to the ground, he rushed pass the barrier in between them and wrapped his arms around him in a warm embrace. Adrien felt like his entire body was about to explode.

"Tom, let go of him, you're going to suffocate the poor thing!" Mrs Cheng chuckled. Marinette's father let go of him, his face beaming.

"I can't believe our little girl finally did it! She's been gossiping about you forever, not to mention talking to the pictures of you on her wall! I'm pretty sure you're also the background on all of her technol-"

"DAD!" a voice from the stairs behind them cut him off. They all turned. Marinette strode quickly down the stairs with an embarrassed expression evident on her face, which he noticed had been lightly touched with makeup. She wore a lose, long sleeved pink top that draped just past her waistline, and simple black leggings. His eyes were caught by the fact she had taken her hair out, and he admired the way it cascaded down her small shoulders. Her sapphire eyes glistened in the light. When they made eye contact, he couldn't help but internally melt into a puddle of mushy goop. Why did she have such a profound impact on his thoughts? Something he continually asked himself. He had decided it was because, not only was she kind, but she was beyond beautiful. Although, this didn't mean he wasn't going to question the pictures of him on her wall.

Her parents both shared a laugh.

"You two had better get going then," the small Chinese woman said, grabbing a picnic basket and handing it to her daughter as Marinette joined Adrien by his side.

"Thanks maman!" she replied cheerfully, shooting her father one last glare before smiling at him too.

"Make sure you have her back by eleven!" her father called out as the two young teenagers made their way outside.

"You can count on me, sir!"

And so the two set off out in the streets towards the park.

The first five minutes or so were shared in complete silence, as the two had no idea what to say to one another. Marinette wanted to keep her mouth shut so she didn't screw things up for herself, and Adrien was racking his brains out trying to figure out how to start a conversation with her. His hands were both hiding in the pockets of his hoodie, when he remembered what Mr Dupain had said before they left the bakery.

"Hey Mari?" He felt a grin creeping onto his lips.

"Y-yes?" she replied almost instantly.

"Is it true that you have pictures of me on your wall?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the blue haired girl beside him turned a deep shade of crimson. She nodded quickly and tried to avoid his eyes.

"You don't think it's creepy?" She asked timidly.

He found himself laughing uncontrollably.

"Not at all, Mari, actually it's kinda cute if I'm honest," he giggled some more.

"Well you could have taken the information in worse I guess. I'd take humiliation over you being creeped out any day."

"No way, this thing we're doing here... you and me. I'm in. I'm all in. Regardless of the fact you keep pictures of me. I'll just have to start my own collection." he winked at her. She smiled at him and tried to stop herself from laughing.

"You are SUCH a flirt. We haven't even been dating two days yet and you're already bringing out the sappy stuff. You actually remind me of one of my good friends..."

"Do I know this friend of yours?" he raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

She shrugged. "Probably." And then she looked forward teasingly, deliberately ignoring his obvious curiosity.

"So should I be worried? Or jealous?"

"No way! We're just friends. Dating him would be gross!" She scrunched her face up in disgust as she directed her gaze back to his.

"Okay, I guess I'll believe you then." The blonde boy poked his tongue out.

The two continued chatting away until they reached the entrance of the park. The varieties of towering trees that covered the landscape in front of them seemed to create a protective canopy overhead. The grass was short, recently mowed so that people could play on it and even relax on it during the hours of the day. There were benches all around so that people could pick and choose where they wanted to sit for their outings. The uneven ground meant that there were hills for people to climb and look over the entirety of the park. As Chat Noir he had learnt that the hill in the middle of the area had the absolute best view compared to any other park in Paris, which is why he had chosen to take Mari there in the first place. His mother had taken him here as a kid, so it had always reserved a special place in his heart.

"See that hill in the middle just a little way from here?" He asked suddenly.

Marinette was confused. "Yeah, obviously, why?"

He gave her an evil smile. "Race you to the top?" He didn't wait for her to answer, he just took off, running as fast as his legs could carry him.

Marinette glared at him and started sprinting off after him, her blue hair flying past her. "You're SO ON!" She shouted as she overtook the blonde boy.

They weaved in between trees and bushes. Even while she was carrying a basket full of food, she found she could easily outrun him. Her experiences as Ladybug had taught her speed and agility whilst battling akumas, so it was no surprise to her really. She turned her head to see him. His face was priceless. His expression displayed a mixture of shock and disbelief. The wind on her face as she ran for the top was exhilarating, it reminded her of patrol and why she loved being a superhero so much. She could be herself.

She reached the top of the hill with ease. Adrien following closely behind, she stood admiringly gazing at the sunset. The mixtures of soft oranges and pinks as the sun slowly slipped beneath the horizon. It was something she rarely got to appreciate as her civilian self.

She heard his footsteps behind her.

"Beautiful isn't it?" he mused. She nodded, eyes still intrigued by the warm glow retreating from the sky.

"Adrien, how did you come across this? I know your father doesn't let you go out very often is all... and it just seems like the type of place you wouldn't visit often..."

He looked over to her, and she stopped looking into the sky for a moment. There was desperation in his eyes, she could see it. Sadness and loneliness, memories flooding back into his mind. His usually vibrant emerald eyes dulled into a pale green.

"My mother used to take me here when I was little..." he paused.

"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine, I thought I'd take you here as a first date so I could start associating it with happier memories again." He offered a weak smile. She frowned. Placing the basket on the ground, she grabbed his hands into hers without thought.

"I'm still sorry, it must be a terrible burden to bear... I mean everything that's happened to you. It's sounds like a lot to carry, and I mean, a person only has two hands."

He glanced down at her small and fragile looking fingers as they entwined with his. They felt soft as he gently rubbed them with his thumbs.

"It's fine, I have a long history for having bad luck," he chuckled "and as for my hands, I'm used to holding heavy burdens." He felt himself smirk "But for all the things my hands have held, the best by far is you."

Marinette blushed harder than she had ever before, and then she pulled away from him gently. "Oh my god, Adrien, are you still flirting?" she fiddled with her hair, trying to conceal the red spreading on her cheeks. He was really starting to remind her of a certain black cat.

"Depends..." he leaned in close to her face. "Is it working?"

She pushed his face away, and turned towards the picnic basket.

"How about you stop for two seconds and we grab a bite to eat?" She interrupted, laying a blanket out on the ground and pulling out different types of pies and other kinds of pastries, as well as plates to eat them on. He nodded and sat down beside her.

For about a half hour, they shared food together in a comfortable silence, watching as the night ascended and the stars began to shine. The moon was almost full, illuminating the park around them in a soft white glow, amongst the streetlamps of course.

The blue haired girl felt her head rest against Adrien's comfortable shoulders. It was almost unreal. The feeling of warm radiating from him. She'd only ever dreamed of being this close to him. And now it was finally happening. She felt like the happiest person in the world. She sighed, happily with a lovesick smile creeping onto her face. Of all the people like Chloe who had told her that she would never date someone like Adrien. If only they could see her now. Even if they hadn't done much talking, it was still nice just to bask in his presence. The love of her life had finally recognised her, and that fuelled her with enough happiness to last a thousand lifetimes.

And although the conversations that followed that were only general small talk and getting to know each other, Adrien Agreste was the happiest he had been for years.


	10. Chapter 10

****A/N- So this is it. The final chapter you guys! It's been a fantastic journey and I'm glad to have shared it with each and every one of you. I know some of you have asked in the reviews if I was going to end it soon and the answer is yes, only because I don't really have any more storyline in mind, and I don't want to ruin it. Better short and simple than it being long and tedious for you all to read. Now that I've finished this one, I can finally start writing the five or so other ones I have planned. Enjoy the second last update, which is going to be slightly longer than normal. A friend of mine told me to do an epilogue so that's what I shall do! and just to give you a little insight, it's going to feature a teenaged Emma Agreste...****

Marinette sat on her bed, staring dreamily out of her window at nothing in particular. It had been about an hour since Adrien had dropped her off and gone back to his own home for the night. Yet she was still living in the moment. The past four hours had been exactly what she had been hoping for and more, something she had been wishing would happen for over a year, and now that it finally had, she was elated. Her body felt so light, as if she was floating in the clouds. In fact, she was almost so distracted she didn't even notice her little spotted friend fly out from her hiding place on Marinette's desk.

"You've been sitting there for an hour, Mari, are you okay?"

The blue haired girl snapped out of her trance. She offered a very lovesick smile to the small creature.

"I'm more than okay, Tikki! Tonight was amazing! I can't believe I finally went on a date with ADRIEN! Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this? I"M HIS GIRLDFRIEND!" She leaned backwards onto the comfort of her mattress until she was lying down with her hands above her head. She turned towards the kwami that was situated beside her now.

"I have a pretty good idea," Tikki chuckled. "I'm happy for you, and glad everything worked out the way you wanted it to." she offered a warm smile to her miraculous holder.

"Thanks Tikki, your support means everything to me."

Marinette sighed dreamily once more, her thoughts turning back to the events that evening. Not only had she gone on a date with her crush, and now boyfriend, but he had openly flirted with her! God damnit, why did he have to be so perfect? And every time she had looked at him, she wished she could explain it. His eyes were captivating, his voice gave her the kind of butterflies that made her feel happy. And whenever the blonde boy smiled in her presence, she couldn't help but notice her heart skipped a beat. She'd never felt this way about anybody else in her entire life before she met Adrien. She couldn't describe it, but he made her feel complete. The kind of complete she felt saving Paris, being Ladybug, it was a part of her.

Abruptly, her happiness faded as she came to a realisation.

"Relationships are built on trust, right Tikki?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"In my experience, the strongest of relationships include two people who are open and honest with each other at all times, so yes, I would say so. Why may I ask?"

She sat up quickly and moved her gaze to the pictures of him on her wall. There it was again. His smile. Even if it wasn't as genuine as the ones she had seen when he was around his friends at school, it still made her heartbeat jump everytime she looked at it. But instead of her heartbeat jumping, a pang of guilt shot through her.

"Nobody knows I am Ladybug. But I feel like that is something a boyfriend should know," she hesitated, "do you think it's lying in a way?"

"Of course not, Mari, by concealing your identity, you're protecting those close to you." Tikki consoled.

"But Tikki! I feel like I'm lying to him. It's eating away at me from the inside. Do you think I should reveal my identity to him? I mean I don't want him to get hurt because of me, but I also firmly believe that I should't keep secrets from him. If relationships are built on trust, then ours would be a lie..."

"That's not true. If he ever found out I'm sure he would understand Marinette, you're overreacting." The kwami flew into the front of her face and met the blue girl's gaze. Tikki could see the trouble clouding her miraculous holder's eyes. It saddened her to see Mari this way, but if her experience with the past miraculous holders had taught her anything, it was that they were all chosen because they had the courage and determination to overcome any obstacle that stood in their way. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was no exception to this.

"So you think I should remain a secret to him then? Keep my identity to myself?"

"You need to make your own decisions."

Tikki offered the girl another friendly smile before flying back to her own personal pillow and laying down for the night.

The kwami had made a point. For as long as her boyfriend was unaware of her being her alter ego, and being oblivious to the fact she saved Paris sometimes on a daily basis (even though the akumas of late had been lacking) he would be safe, nobody would be able to use him to get to her. Adrien was the love of her life, that she already knew, and his safety was paramount, she would never do anything that she believed would compromise that.

"Adrien means the world to me. I've never thought that loving someone so much was ever possible. If he were to get hurt because of me, I'd never forgive myself. I'll keep it a secret for now."

And with that, she got up to brush her teeth, before returning to the warmth of her covers, and falling into a long and deep sleep.

"Plagg, should I tell her or not?" Adrien Agreste sat on the edge of his giant bed the next day,trying to pry answers out of the stubborn little camembert obsessed cat. He had been debating all day, thinking about Marinette.

"I don't know kid! Big decisions like this make me hungry! Give me some more cheese and I might be willing to help you out..." Plagg meanwhile, was already nibbling on a wedge.

The blonde boy glared at the kwami.

"I'm serious! Is it lying? Is it dishonest to conceal my life as Chat Noir from her? I mean, would she understand if she ever found out? PLAGG STOP EATING FOR TWO SECONDS AND GIVE ME A USEFUL ANSWER!" The sincerity in his voice made the tiny cat look up from what he was doing.

"Why don't you ask Ladybug on patrol tonight? We both know she'd be better at this stuff than I would anyway." He turned back to the wheel of cheese he was devouring and continued to do so.

He was right, the spotted girl was wise and usually had good advice. Not to mention, it was almost time to leave for patrol anyway. Maybe he should save it for later and ask her when they were leaping over buildings. It would make for a good conversation, and he always did enjoy their bantering. He could recall her mentioning something about bringing their phones in case nothing happened, so he grabbed his and held out the other hand smirking at Plagg.

"Let's go then, lazy. Plagg, claws out!"

And so Chat leapt out the window and towards the usual rendezvous point to begin patrol for the night.

"Good evening kitty," the heroine's voice greeted as he descended onto the platform shrinking his baton back to size before placing it back into his belt. She glanced into his other hand that held his mobile device and giggled. "I see you remembered to bring it after all. You probably have plans to send flirty texts to your girlfriend all night, I bet."

He winked. "Not a bad idea, thanks for the suggestion, Ladybug." he mused and then came to sit down beside her. She was looking out over the city taking in the beautiful sight of the lit up city of Paris in all of its glory. Hr eyes were filled with adoration and happiness, the kind that filled his own.

"You know, no matter how many times I look at it, it never gets any less breathtaking..." she breathed.

He smiled, he remembered when he would have killed to see her as happy as this, probably no less than a week or two ago. Her face was a sight to behold. Although she was still extremely beautiful in his eyes, she would never match up to the beauty of Marinette. Speaking of which.

"Can I ask you about something important?"

"Of course you can, fire away." Her gaze didn't move from the lights that twinkled below them.

"It's about our personal lives," he paused, "and if i'm honest, it's been bugging me all day."

She nodded, signalling for him to continue, ignoring the pun.

"You know about my girlfriend because I asked you the other day. But I feel like I'm lying to her. By not telling her about my other life, I feel like the trust and honesty aspect of our relationship would be a lie." A sense of deep familiarity swept through the red spotted girl's mind at these words. "I know you've said hundreds of times that we shouldn't, but I feel like if I'm ever going to be completely comfortable in my relationship, I have to be open with her. I'd like to-"

"You'd like to reveal your secret identity to her?" Ladybug interjected. The stern look on her face diminished any hope that he had of her approving of the idea.

The boy in the leather cat suit nodded hopefully, she noted the sincerity in his eyes. She wanted more than anything for this guy's love life to work out for him, mainly so he would leave her alone, but also because they were friends and she cared for him even if she didn't necessarily show it all of the time. She knew herself the struggles of keeping a secret identity, well, secret. She also knew the risks that came with her leading her double life, the consequences it could have on those around her if anybody ever found out about it. The dangers that they would be exposed to. She knew how much he probably longed to talk to somebody about it, somebody to rant to about how much he loved and hated being a hero. After all, it was extremely hard work to almost singlehandedly save Paris and the civilians that lived there from villains and criminals who sought to disrupt the peace. It was difficult to do such things with only adoration in return for the work they did sometimes on a daily basis. Of course, the work wasn't always bad, in fact, most of the time it was enjoyable. But what was the point of it all, if you couldn't share it with someone?

"You understand the danger you would be putting her in, right?" she inquired, raising her eyebrow beneath the mask.

"I do realise that, Ladybug, but I also think that keeping it from her would be worse in a way. I know she would be in immediate danger if anyone were to find out my identity, but if she ever found out on her own, before I could tell her, I don't think she would take it the right way." He sighed. "She would think that I didn't trust her enough to tell her who I am, and that's not true. I trust this girl, with all my heart and soul. I don't want to lie to her."

"I understand, Chat, I really do. I've been having similar thoughts about the same situation. It's hard. Because I don't want them to be hurt, but I also don't want to lie to them either. However, taking into consideration everything, I realised it was a better idea if I didn't," she paused and stared into his eyes idly, as if her mind was wandering somewhere else. "You're not me, and I think that you should do whatever you believe to be best. But I want you to think I over for a second, if she got hurt by an akuma because she was trying to help you, how would you feel?"

"I wouldn't let an akuma get anywhere near h-"

"You can't protect her every second of the day, kitty." Ladybug looked back at the glow of lights. Apart from the occasional vehicle, the desolate streets of the city rested in silence. Much like the conversation that had just ended.

She was right, so he sighed in defeat.

"Alright. I'll put her before our relationship. You're right, thanks for your wisdom." He got up and went so sit a few metres behind her so he could check his phone. He then found himself wondering what his beautiful girlfriend was up to at that exact moment. It was late, so he hoped she was peacefully asleep in bed, dreaming of happy thoughts. But he knew Mari was probably up designing something new from her sketchbook as she so often did.

"I'll be on my phone for a while, give me a shout if you need me, Chat," Ladybug smiled and then tuned back to where she was dangling her feet off the edge of the platform, and then she grabbed her phone from its resting place beside her before turning it on.

He focused his attention onto his own phone. Should he message her? On the off chance she was asleep, would she get mad at him for waking her up? The realisation he hadn't talked to her since they parted ways after their date and exchanged numbers. _Yeah, I should probably..._ he thought to himself with a tinge of guilt. With haste, he quickly brought up her contact and shot her a message.

A: Hey, you up?

From over where Ladybug was sitting, he heard a sharp PING! He figured she must have been messaging someone too, so he didn't think much of it. A few seconds later, his phone vibrated in response.

M: Yeah, just working on some late night designs

 _Of course,_ he chuckled to himself.

A: Awesome! Can you send me a picture?

Across the platform, he heard the heroine stiffen.

M: Actually I'd prefer to finish it first, that way you'll be even more surprised.

A: Okay

M: Thanks for taking me to the park the other day, it was amazing to spend some time with you :)

A: Likewise. It was nice to share that place with someone else. Glad you liked it as much as I did.

M: What you up to?

The model felt himself tense up. He hated lying, but he couldn't explicitly say he was on patrol with one of Paris's superheroes.

A: Watching a movie

M: What movie?

A: Star Wars

M: That's vague, which one in particular?

A: The Last Jedi

 _Phew_...

M: The new trilogy is no way near as good at the originals.

A: Watching it for the expeirence

M: Sorry to cut it short, but I should go

A: Alright I'll see you at school tomorrow, beautiful ;)

M: Goodnight my little flirt

And with that, Adrien put his phone down, a huge smirk tugging at his lips. He couldn't wait to see her the next day, he wanted to look at her pretty face and hold her in his embrace. He wanted to make sure she knew he wouldn't ever let anything hurt her.

He walked back over to Ladybug and returned to his place beside her on the platform, with both their legs dangling over the city. His eyes wandered over to her glowing mobile screen. She was swiping through pictures of blonde people. No, blonde boys.

"Whatcha doin'?" He asked looking over her shoulder, casually. As his eyes narrowed at the pictures on her phone, he realised that they weren't pictures of boys, but one in particular. It was him. He was filled with an overwhelming sense of smugness.

"Nothing much," she replied stopping on one photo of him leaning against a tree, with one of his hands running loosely through his hair. He instantly recognized the photo, because it was from the photoshoot he had done about a month ago for a magazine company. He felt his need to tease her intensify.

"Soo... you got a soft spot for blonde boy, do you?" he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Grow up, Chaton, he's my boyfriend."

Adrien felt heart stop. Did he hear her correctly? His eyes widened and he gulped.

"Wait... what?" he spluttered.

"I don't need to speak about my personal life with you," she retorted.

His heart was now rapidly beating faster than it ever had before. He glanced to her blue hair, and then her sapphire eyes, and then back to her hair again. It was worn in two pigtails. Just like even had the same freckles, granted they were partially covered by the spotty mask. And as he looked even more closley at her small figure, he noticed they were almost identical in stature. Ladybug had a sassy and confident personality, it complimented the shy blue haired girl's perfectly. But it couldn't be true, right?

"M-m-mari?" he stuttered, and he watched as her face drained of colour at the statement. Her eyes found his. She looked concerned and scared at the same time. There was no way that could be a coincidence, right?

"Shit!" she mouthed. He watched as she facepalmed. "How did you know? Nevermind, Adrien Agreste is famous, I guess I shouldn't have said anything!" she groaned, "this is bad! Now you know who I am but I don't know who you are. What if Hawkmoth finds out? He could use us against each other! Oh great, now I'm overthinking and rambling at the same time!"

It all made sense now, the personalities. Always being late to class. How she and Ladybug had never been seen in the same place together at the exact same time. In fact, he was almost mad at himself for not noticing it sooner. The girl he had been in love with for so long, was his very own girlfriend. The one who had kept her identity from him in order to protect him. But he didn't need protecting. This explained everything!

He began to walk towards her. "Plagg, claws in." He said just loud enough for her to hear. His body was englufed in a bright green light that shone and lit up the area. The little balck cat kwami flew from his ring and into his pocket. The heroine's face froze in shock.

"A-Adrien? B-but... you... Chat Noir... OHMYGOSH!" she squeaked. "Spots off!"

Marinette stood before him. Blushing harder than ever. He wanted to kiss the hell out of her.

"It's you..." He laughed in relief.

"So much for keeping the identities secret, huh?" she managed.

He found his legs involuntarily running towards her, and his arms scooping her up. He twirled her through the air and then brought her into a hug. His chest was pressed up against hers, and his arms were wrapped around her waist, holding on for dear life. She placed hers around his neck, and at that moment they were as close as they could have possibly been. They stood there, for who knows how long, listening to the sound of each other's hearts beating in unison.

When he finally pulled away, he leant his neck down slightly so that his forehead rested gently against hers. Gazing into each other's eyes, it seemed like the world itself had stopped.

"I'm so glad it was you..." his voice was low and husky.

"Me too," she barely said in a whisper, wavered by the tension between them both.

He leaned down as she looked up, both of their eyes closed in anticipation, their lips connecting gently. Simple, warm and sweet. They pulled back for a second, taking shallow and shaky breaths. And then nothing could have stopped them. Marinette placed her hands on the side of his head and pulled it back down so she could smash her lips on his. Adrien's hands wandered down to her hips, feeling every inch of her physique as they were caught up in a heat of passion. They both felt exhilirated, the rush of adrenaline as they melted together. When they pulled apart for a second time, they gazed deep into each other's eyes, passion evident in his and Mari's full of love.

She felt the sudden need to be held, and as if he could read her mind, he wrapped her up in his arms, keeping her close. She could smell his deodorant, and it was the most comforting thing ever. Because it smelt of him. She was his. He was hers.

She leant up to his ear.

"I love you, Adrien," she whispered meaningfully. His grip on her tightened.

"I love you too. You'll forever be my always." he replied.

"I've wanted this for so long, you have no idea," Mari giggled.

"Oh but I do, M'lady," he sniggered.

She looked up to his face and the grin that was spreading on his face.

"I hope we last a long time. I have a feeling we're going to make many happy memories together," she offered a warm smile. He nodded and they turned towards the starlit sky. The moon was full and helped illuminate the beautiful city below them. The orange glow of the streetlamps and the faint colouring of cars as they drove on the streets. he couldn't help but sigh in adoration of both her and the sight before them both.

"You and me together forever and never to part," the lovesick smile on his face was precious. "Mari, you're everything to me, everything about you. I hope we never stop making memories together..."

And so the duo stood, hand in hand, ready to take on the world. Two individuals ready to protect each other at any cost. A love so strong nobody could ever stand in their way. For it didn't matter what they faced, as long as they faced it together.


	11. Epilogue: 20 Years Later

****A/N - Emma is around 15 in this chapter, Marinette's canon age. It's set after Hawkmoth is defeated in the future, and they have given back the miraculouses. And also, hope you all have enjoyed the journey as much as I have, look forward to writing my other stories now. Can't believe it's over now. This is officially the first fanfiction I have finished haha. Well anyways, enjoy this magical time skip, and I'll see you all around!****

Emma Agreste sat in her room admiring the many photos of Liam Jackson she had stuck to her wall. Why did a human being have to so god damn flawless? His chestnut brown hair was constantly windswept and wild, and he had the most beautiful and adventurous blue eyes. He was nice and smart and everything a girl could ever want in a guy. Her friends had been teasing her for ages about how she couldn't muster up the courage to talk to him properly, and it was beginning to eat away at her. It wasnt her fault she was too scared to form a coherent sentence around him. It was his for being so good looking. She sighed, long and deep, collapsing onto her bed in defeat.

"Emma? Are you in here?" Her mother's voice called from the hallway.

In a sense of panic, she raced to put the cork board back over Liam's pictures. But her door opened before she could finish doing so.

"Ah, there you are, could you come downstairs and help me clean up after Hugo? Your brother is not great at tidying up after himself, and I can't bend over very well at the moment-" A blue haired woman with sapphire eyes stood in the doorway. She wore a large pink maternity dress that cascaded down her body and over a huge bump that poked through the middle.

The blue haired woman paused and looked at her daughter and the cork board. "What are you doing, young lady?" She inquired, raising a single eyebrow.

The girl cringed internally before removing the board and placing it next to her desk. She watched as her mother glanced up towards the many pictures that covered almost every inch of that part of the wall.

"Before you ask, mum, I'm just going to say that this is perfectly normal I swear!" She managed even though the mortification was making her turn a bright tinge of red.

Marinette laughed. "It's not the worst thing you could be doing at your age."

Emma looked down at her feet timidly, avoiding the gaze of her mother.

"Come on sweetie, sit down. Let's have a chat." She walked over to the girl's bed and sat down beside her. Emma straightened up and tried to avoid eye contact. Her mother however, simply offered a warm smile. "He's cute," she continued, "what's his name?"

"Liam," the girl mumbled.

"I'm guessing you like him a lot?"

"Yeah..." Emma went quiet.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, especially boys, I am your mother after all. I'm supposed to help you with matters like these," the blue haired woman giggled, and then became more serious as her daughter glared at her.

"You wouldn't understand, Mum," she crossed her arms and looked out of the window.

Marinette giggled to herself, _I could tell you stories,_ she thought. "I've been there too, it happens to a lot of us, you know."

There were footsteps up the hallway, and a blonde haired green eyed man walked in, tailed closely by a blue haired boy no older than ten. His little innocent eyes resembled those of his fathers.

"What's going on in here?" Adrien questioned the two girls sitting on the bed together, as he leant gently on the doorframe.

"Emma is having boy troubles."

"MUM!" Emma growled.

Both of the adults giggled. The little boy stood in silence, watching curiously.

"Hugo, get out of my room!" The girl yelled.

"Now, now," Adrien scolded, "be nice to your brother, you should be thankful you have one."

Adrien glanced over to his beautiful wife, and could see she wanted nothing more than for their children to get along, what with another on the way. Her hands rested on her large stomach, and he couldn't help but stare longingly at her. He often did so, and wondered how he had gotten so lucky, how fate had brought them together. He was thankful for the family they had created together, and would continue to grow over time.

"Emma, you've heard the story of how your father and I got together, haven't you?" Marinette smiled at her daughter once more.

"Only a billion times," she retorted.

"I'm sure you haven't heard _everything_ ," Adrien added with a smirk.

The family all sat down on the bed together, huddling in close around the blue haired woman as she spoke.

"Listen carefully, I'm going to tell you a tale, a miraculous tale of Ladybug and Cat Noir..."


End file.
